 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The* [0 L! R4 V( L6 u8 i1 u
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
8 W' D. \9 B9 O$ Esyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
: |2 u0 {0 M4 x& ~) G9 `, dand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial0 Q2 v4 b( t/ [6 ~& `8 M
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of. ~! D1 ] r4 o3 a8 [* N: a
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
$ `5 O8 W* w4 x7 Y/ bA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
* N& f) E9 Q! S[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]( _7 k0 i' s& o. a- w
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving5 ]$ x* t7 J2 t% F1 u
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
. j8 h Z& J( Fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset" C, h; [1 d+ N- H- ?/ c/ y
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two, S7 B. t! r6 F# E F9 r: {" D
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a; O, S, X' t. p+ R5 V2 X
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 M( i, j5 O% U7 F% ^8 i# dend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In- c* b7 O k& T( W
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,3 a$ i: z N$ N9 t4 `! {3 w2 u
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ i% a8 E: d4 T- F
2 E1 E& d3 O: U
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
8 D( R( S, \2 k$ ?8 l" o8 S5 eand American speakers of English, |
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