 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
. ~- i; V g6 x1 T8 E4 T# YInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
! o$ O6 _6 ]& K! nsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
# G, g1 |4 f) h z4 [' }! E. Sand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
8 m7 n5 e$ _$ N, C(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
9 P% I+ H- X0 V4 d: xretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
" s" \) L0 e4 _A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=7 _ L& Q! A. s, U
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
3 T# U% z, R% J) U* V! x(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving" i8 q4 E5 c* J. w2 g
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
+ X% N, ^) B8 Z! c# `possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 q) u; R( s5 {1 w* o0 s0 B(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two5 Q5 R8 i Q: _9 b! Z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a2 p: C7 e" l0 I S
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.3 X3 w6 w$ _! w. Q* V0 C$ M
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In/ I: W% |' z4 Q" m# a8 u
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,. r3 P/ k/ Y4 @6 A
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
( e; \8 ~% I) @
. v0 b: S9 K# b, z3 m(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 a# j3 L+ d" ] P: \and American speakers of English, |
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