 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
7 T/ v5 r( C# V# @( c5 OInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 ]% H1 _* E1 E5 H$ o! ^" {5 U
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in, y8 a" }" {* L& F# V5 s- a7 D
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; _8 W }' m2 x( e9 T/ J
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of+ W, a3 l% h- @' ?
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 W3 S; N& V$ m# j) H; ~
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=2 a2 C/ ~7 V: h: G; t
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
* M& H! N4 c% ~: U6 W! b" p(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving5 X6 ~5 R' f3 g- B7 i3 Z0 J
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on: M' O. _* I, J% A# @ a
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
9 H$ `+ X) o* y(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two, w' C+ n' Q7 C% j
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
& A5 X& E, q+ p. q, ?) Z* _semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.: P6 ]( _! l3 F* ^
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In$ D0 \" t+ `& v9 Q" q
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
( }0 C! z; ?/ C0 Y1 T( _/ Athe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla... j1 n& G8 `, Y
$ ^/ g$ H) c$ B: A
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)5 a3 T2 I+ g, N
and American speakers of English, |
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