 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The- K/ \# K! l! O5 q* r$ T
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the- b1 _4 _% T( q
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
3 p# t: N# N- o0 Z( e/ dand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial l% F1 A8 q9 H% I$ i: P; L. O
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
; D' q1 O/ F$ x( t* |( Jretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).* {2 a' h$ P- A* u
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=7 ]; ~6 N3 v9 `: d
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]( e: k# j3 b4 t3 u X* ^
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving$ t5 E9 J5 e* L( t# ^0 w
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
@* d0 i6 m7 c, Opossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset- h: J d G5 M# H3 y6 a
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
' S: u$ W2 o w8 \% g' p8 Z# J. Qsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
7 E+ [2 C3 [+ D* l9 c$ V3 usemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 t8 X2 Z T" C9 Mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
3 M# b& ]9 ?0 h% Z& o- @compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,( j. \3 [4 x. p/ q' j& R7 k) \
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
8 i' P0 _* S+ a0 X( s$ V- u1 X, O
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
. ~( W$ I2 [7 Jand American speakers of English, |
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