 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
! n/ [3 u. ~5 b: O( oInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
* p* @3 q- c' C' E8 g2 isyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,7 k1 P3 N% P9 i# J- o
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
! J& \" |4 @* `4 B% {(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 u+ n0 g, h+ F! L: L
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).% Y$ e' V. O& b% b
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
7 b9 b3 S& R7 z5 r9 d[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
" T$ ^& a! R& ]/ R; U! T/ k(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving, f4 j( v/ i# ]% y: d6 c
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
) `; ~4 U& S5 `5 ^$ @; lpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# @3 R3 s% v8 {! B. {, p9 g
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
" _& W" f# p, z/ s4 Usegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
6 C4 F( F+ M: ]9 N# Asemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
7 h+ e; B1 `/ S% W- t- vend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In4 c4 F8 n: e- e- o' H5 h
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,2 \ [) r6 r) _# d, v
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla... I) l# o- R s
) q: ?$ ]6 S3 g1 k
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
% T& V) V9 h3 \" B2 }6 r3 u5 \9 [( Qand American speakers of English, |
|