 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The* Q0 o( X2 Z& p8 R* w5 d
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the3 j2 H. j' ` E% [
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
& ?; p/ T0 c P+ D* P" tand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial+ Y' a2 P3 T8 _! ]2 X
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# W4 x: H2 P2 r' ^9 yretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
i/ S4 c Y; i) ?A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=' |2 n" u i2 I. {- a* d5 A3 k& n
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]% @8 t# N: T$ q- h3 T+ @6 b- X. w
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
% J# a% Y8 V; gretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 H9 P: X! {. s* z
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
/ u& A5 j! j) }% \& f(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
' V( a) k8 A3 ~- E+ }$ I( Dsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a. j A: b! a2 z v2 Q- ?
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. T# { e" }( S8 W( Q; {3 a* U
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In; } g6 Z% C8 i8 H% M
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, `( Y5 ]# K/ O" B8 Z4 N9 j
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
; p5 _3 ]6 q6 ^% c! y7 ]! R$ V/ J( ?2 s6 R# @
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
. l+ r+ Z$ B, m- V" Y# |and American speakers of English, |
|