 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
# S6 C% z1 j$ L" @, O' G* DInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the/ \# {, F7 m; J& B/ e, l+ x
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,; U( K* \. H% c
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
# Z' y+ k0 Q" O! V. U4 F2 r(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
0 D5 i* S& [% Q# b) mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
( R0 ]1 X& v: y iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=2 X+ q* }0 g, X% F n: D
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 e8 T$ M/ |$ f: `, `(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving, B. X, |" Y) u5 d! s* [6 r6 D
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on* l' }) s. v& Q7 h
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
3 p% i% s1 t' S& R/ D7 L M6 v(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two$ o( _- }" \* Z$ Z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
! u, M9 l4 _9 i; u" csemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. W: @3 F- P" D, h) O/ _! l X
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
0 P/ Q3 N3 x/ u! A# O8 r2 Jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,% G: K) S, V% w+ v/ B
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..) I& w( y( a8 w e
! a6 s* c0 l! p' d# |) `(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)* [6 Y# o9 D- w0 ^( X! l
and American speakers of English, |
|