 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& G+ U$ m$ V) c; h8 R
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the3 Y" k* ~# {* U E/ L4 ~& g
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- [7 i P3 o/ f6 k+ H6 E
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial5 y; W! `* J( p$ P. r- r
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& E! q; `) H! g3 eretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
6 F* B. a2 @2 AA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
7 |1 L- E! ^7 g: Z) [# ~1 Q1 ][y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 P. }% V8 W( }* s, o1 I0 w1 ]
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving" t _7 f8 l: Y, l2 a
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
2 h* o# U# _( Wpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
3 l; U" @! u) z4 G# q' Z3 j$ s(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
1 h, E( |# r9 e0 U) L) _) c/ A2 Esegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
/ R# ~7 ^0 S4 n" X/ Z$ vsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.+ |: L) e, h3 b
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In6 g$ o& ?6 e( y
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,6 n! l, E A5 s L
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..5 X$ f9 P6 ~, P6 Q; Q. [6 C
: r" l- S" n0 F2 y, N- m
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 l1 _; P. Y& C* F- t# dand American speakers of English, |
|