 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
' }5 ] N. v+ _1 f1 FInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
, {9 U2 K O& Zsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,% o X- D4 n$ G6 Q/ j- @6 e
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial4 S6 K' e4 q6 m, l7 T4 `( m; S
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% E% `/ T0 }7 J/ R' r7 q, @retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).& H! j1 B3 B) ^# K" ~5 I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% T# L6 k- y* U; V* Q' t
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]- r/ x; V, c8 `: y2 ]
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving* L4 U% z$ b: y2 n2 m* Q( s
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% M: A( M1 v6 C$ N* O7 l- ?possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
. `3 d- u8 M5 e) `( i( E. I(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two3 y& a8 ]( V3 e
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a, t5 K' {5 _7 \- A4 W
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.) D8 ~' l4 ^: L% k0 X, M
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In- G& P5 [$ R9 v9 O: N8 T w
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
r. |/ v- f; ^the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..6 m+ m1 b7 r" Z+ j$ }+ w' `% A) g
& L. r, @: S# G1 H; x
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch); ~. z3 O: t0 R g# D
and American speakers of English, |
|