 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The. ]9 J( L" `( F6 c5 _/ u
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 |: y3 n1 r( D/ V
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,! c( m# `8 U5 ?, w0 R3 y
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial+ d7 ] Y2 L6 E* v: j
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% ~8 @3 ~3 _0 {7 ^' {7 U3 L9 m+ sretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).3 Y# }8 r$ f" a% w V
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
2 L- p/ ?7 j; T2 F) O% P2 l[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]1 n* H. @, ~7 `& y' @# x
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. |( h) u/ s2 ~) i4 vretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
# N: W; v! E! npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
y& W2 h2 S8 g2 w, ?(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two6 A, P. a# H8 I' C
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a9 V7 \4 r7 s- ~& m
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
1 ~; [( p% e) Tend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
5 q4 }' Q' F' C( z$ N. ycompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,6 r0 _ h, f2 ~8 {0 z2 I4 Z
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
( Z3 V! Y: T! q. o8 r4 y
2 R6 l5 g! k9 `1 C6 y- i(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& x/ a2 P" D, m3 R/ q5 {0 [and American speakers of English, |
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