 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
% L0 b, d$ J Y& j& VInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
4 T! X. c' g' {, x2 i) osyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,9 U4 J% M+ b( B
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
7 x0 w0 b" N9 x; b5 |$ q(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of. ?8 p/ D& r8 b: e) k/ u
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)./ N" |& q8 B" V$ v
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
& p/ c5 \& E8 a9 u1 [[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 n0 _2 s5 ~* P7 N(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. O1 N6 P- {9 E7 P. Wretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on! ]# u2 E& g* Y
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset: A! Y- X/ S* q/ ~
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two8 O* M. f" j% v
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& R$ D3 W* ? o5 Q2 B
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. T5 @7 q+ a8 c0 X \7 c
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In3 c' B3 F4 m/ ^6 B
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
" c5 \% d: w: D) I- uthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
) N7 T. B: D6 Z& n$ P% K4 _; l4 A7 o$ Z' H
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)7 ^8 p7 R$ |; m c6 O+ k7 c; z$ Z
and American speakers of English, |
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