 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The; y0 F$ n3 \3 f R
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) }3 ^9 l- q7 O7 q
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,6 |# R; j9 G, P
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial% Z% W2 c: `0 {8 |# z% q
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of4 R9 t! }, B2 T
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
9 P$ N$ Q5 [# p) t) X" }+ g- iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=; }2 [7 N' U" u i
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]; F2 E6 K! n _$ B2 m( N
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving: V+ p/ E. ]1 u" s# R: ]; b& ?
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on+ @! Y& P; P% h" s$ @, h
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 @. D+ ~) S$ N0 p- P' I9 ]
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
5 j0 j+ u; _8 i0 q Z9 L; Qsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
5 }* _9 u$ G8 B: X0 G* Jsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
5 m% ^& Z" g% k6 |7 ^) lend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In+ R+ { X- E3 Q
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; \0 G$ G. z3 b" dthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
6 k8 y- s: Q$ @5 L4 K5 S, a% t4 @
4 z7 E% Z5 P/ ~+ q* _(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). B x3 z7 k. I6 M2 t$ n* {5 C3 v
and American speakers of English, |
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