 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
- Z: n( o' a. }& Z" q" wInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the" M8 O7 M4 t) C$ |" d/ `
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,3 \$ a- u8 p( U
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 B& V/ T2 V) g/ K6 n/ k8 D
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of7 S- g% a8 n7 H4 P# b' n
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).7 P- c9 l, n& E# F9 |1 ]; n
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=& l1 d4 I+ M' J
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]+ w p- O. V; Q6 S. Y4 {& A
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving, P: D, B- _) o# |3 O* }; B: v
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
' D" G. L# X) \+ w+ Z+ |7 tpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
5 X$ I4 Q i5 d& V(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
8 k6 |( _' D' k+ i2 Ysegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
+ I& B+ z' W0 T: ksemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 I9 }' h; H! m/ bend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In, z% u; s( v# M+ j
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,* ^, u( \( m; m: y. Y- g
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
4 D4 r% \0 @9 D' ?+ w# l9 R+ f& a- {( l- N4 ]
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)' ~9 B- l# e7 r7 m! {/ \
and American speakers of English, |
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