 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( |4 z% `; v- [( p! `" E$ L
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the, t" A# B3 F6 J3 k
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ a9 W, g' T% v% M
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
s- @' R, W0 o" x(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# Y2 g9 Z4 J0 X4 oretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).& l- @0 t: |9 x' Z, ^% r4 d
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=9 Z4 G+ B; m4 \3 L. U* u
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]5 v. H1 ~7 m0 ~6 M7 w+ P
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
+ ^5 I' u$ i# ^$ a5 Q9 L5 Wretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
6 r8 X2 X; h5 ?% L4 [6 upossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 h: ?0 E( f9 V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. b& [6 u, t4 ]+ o) _
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 G, g% t$ b0 ] Z( F9 C" o" l3 G
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 T U/ A$ d$ x* F2 h8 S8 oend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
: u0 ^- u5 ]; l* ?1 @compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
9 L' Q- s& M, R% Jthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..+ |! ]( [; o: B( F. f
; I/ h7 D4 z" S0 f2 z9 s
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)5 c' h( M, i/ e) Q$ N& Q
and American speakers of English, |
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