 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 X' L) y, C4 b
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
, c2 ` [9 ~3 S; ?/ T% t6 P! Ysyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
, ]6 z6 q2 ?/ ?% ]and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial- h- \9 @& S) m" \% e
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 l4 u& s* N, Q6 V: gretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).' a. s* |, Y# b+ a
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=3 I0 w5 U( L9 B
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]& e+ D l6 Z; u/ K
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
" A. h& W* s2 a1 jretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 W7 ^3 C0 @% `5 q: l- vpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset9 a) G) p. k7 _% `- O+ u* J
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
; W; _% n) j, |segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a5 b: K: S* g6 Y/ c: ^) L. s# I5 C
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 Z4 s% f: q, R0 u6 Y" kend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In, k# F& k% X6 W& \1 \
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
6 i4 X- b$ p* ethe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 d; l! N- f4 ?# L9 F: O# Y3 E8 B
8 H3 J/ a* Q* e5 N# {
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), q" w1 r7 S: Q' [" [$ E
and American speakers of English, |
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