 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The* M6 k+ t6 d1 N
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the/ c& P) o$ X( @9 |) M* ^- I4 F- f
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 R: r* K$ x) w: \2 K3 c
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
; X/ o' O* q* X/ t(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 F" h. O" W5 U, Y, Jretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)., m1 {$ M0 k- g
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=; Q: j& H1 n, J; m+ Q/ a8 j
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
7 X' Y! L' L" A2 a o(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving+ Y1 v2 U" s1 d
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on1 i$ `# O5 [2 |' J1 {; K
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset8 u# S) Y% C8 M3 E
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. L. e0 z G% I8 h
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
( Y" x9 [! g5 [semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
# P$ _) Z) Q5 V6 V' Cend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
- v U7 C) D0 E4 T# ^' acompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,# X- m0 p! G! ]; c
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.. R3 [3 q5 b2 Y, \
1 F" v8 t! D6 ?6 n- O2 r7 D9 l8 z l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)$ B$ q6 ~1 J5 O E# n, @
and American speakers of English, |
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