 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
3 m$ A$ P" W. tInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
+ t7 t( N9 E' V7 Y3 Nsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,/ [( J" q1 t3 Y
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
N |' d. n4 X) v+ h; m(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
" X7 x$ x( r: S8 A7 d4 Oretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).3 F; U8 f$ a% d1 Z8 R
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
$ f9 H7 B! u/ d) D+ C. [: }5 v[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
9 p9 @) E* G3 d5 w+ x(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
4 V1 O5 U8 s% B Zretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
/ W0 }) E4 W1 ^' R9 C' }( tpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
) b: `, F. w4 E: v$ `(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
3 B! r: u, i. r% o# O$ d4 ~segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a! e, v; R3 k. h, r
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 d& _9 ~( D4 s3 j: c& _end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In% r' X# q$ m3 t/ Z8 b
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,. K$ r8 v J$ I# Y2 m6 Q
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& I/ ]1 I( ^) k! g$ ?
4 v" K1 R4 U. A(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)" D$ O- p4 b2 D/ d$ j
and American speakers of English, |
|