 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The. V/ a8 \2 v/ y! V
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the$ f1 e: `+ q- e; q. }( v" D
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,0 F+ Q! q v8 [/ g2 F
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
3 m. l6 b# o3 p( Q- t2 n4 O$ D(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# j& K+ u0 N3 s7 v9 Lretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).1 a4 q7 m5 y$ w+ N
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
, S4 A6 X8 ~$ y# p* Z4 r* h* F[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]2 W, u. G# k# A
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving4 w x# q- z4 O" ]: O6 P
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on! ]3 f/ O \9 a( C
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 [8 ]1 O$ W! G% m
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
- d# r% @! I( i* S7 E, K+ xsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a% b3 c$ @0 {- ?8 |) V2 Y: M
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( N& V# j' f5 r
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
+ c* z6 O ~9 Lcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
4 k- F( l6 u: W1 kthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.." x$ v& B* g# n5 c. i. t' j2 E
% N- {% D D' D2 y2 L, m
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; C( @4 l3 m! T$ Hand American speakers of English, |
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