 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 B. w% |7 K5 t4 B& k! MInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
* E) j$ q# f, msyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,. V7 }6 o% c3 [- }
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial+ A4 }% Q+ W2 z- @6 Y
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
/ \8 Q/ G8 T! P& {# vretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).+ w) P( W% ?2 F+ @8 \8 p2 _3 Z6 I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
/ ~, P- Y$ g ^[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]/ Z$ S+ C6 k, U; n
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
3 c8 M+ p+ O. f( v( p/ jretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: Z( [; M \8 W f! ^possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset. t+ W, q4 q$ w0 n
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( ]1 q+ o( x! ]: V3 i6 m" b
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
+ k2 Y( y5 P8 K6 \0 \& e. x+ Esemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.7 y" |" T* b. z/ w$ J& ]
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( L1 r0 e6 d N* r- k2 D
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,4 |# F3 H' a! F4 {* ^2 T2 P
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..+ ^! t' O# U% t
4 _: U$ t1 g8 Z4 l: V
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; Y0 ^/ v6 o0 u3 J5 Y% g3 }' O$ Sand American speakers of English, |
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