 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# l) a1 Z' j4 R" v% L
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the9 K! u' m; `% i( S" D
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' c3 z; }* y) D5 E sand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial. `5 f; X( ~8 F1 E, W, h
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of X. B, K. Y- y8 Y* S0 _
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
7 r5 N- ]9 ^" H5 T, w7 K wA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
3 \ b! ^- t( |, Z2 h. |, g" U9 I0 X. R( M[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
" ?5 D3 q! }- r ](phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving4 S# t, ]0 W# C: m
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
( Z6 u1 ]) ?6 _" L- f3 u7 Gpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
+ D% p4 M& w# c3 A! h(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( @5 }" U: A7 b" I
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ f! U' ^: [5 H, q7 G
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
' X% N4 n% H/ xend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 u. q. M0 Z) M, b' L b& K: \compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,/ \% u. P9 w4 ?5 F4 p$ ^; l
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
" A1 A/ Q3 q- b+ T e# |$ K, E* l! Y% d8 Z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
M% \, a! _9 f, ~7 H b- D0 ?and American speakers of English, |
|