 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The1 m) z" v) f T% x
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the: K6 u2 m/ \4 T0 {
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,8 \2 }. k/ s3 b- q6 B) t6 `
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial/ J2 X6 F/ V, }/ w" p) b( g8 S8 C
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
; [. }1 ]- U; {. `! z0 Mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).+ S( l) o: M; y0 G5 E! ~
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
0 E& R h) t9 O% g! o6 O* e[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
5 \" X6 E8 ?: w(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving9 h1 l" P: o5 F1 k! o: j% }
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 C1 C; W# r# O( Xpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' a2 A8 G8 Y! [9 m(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
9 A8 M" r9 x- q( R/ W$ Dsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a) Q( d. ^5 W2 a' P( s
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 i# z5 p( G. m! H, N1 x1 dend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
# K' J' y) ~( ^; Z* W6 ]compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,4 o; `- J2 Y/ E
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..0 w9 m/ I K( @- q: r
. ?6 S( @: H6 h0 x( P" K
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). w* c: i+ z' h1 J( u- A5 y
and American speakers of English, |
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