 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
: ?5 @( L- D. T8 P7 t0 EInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 Z1 _! D, B6 A
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
7 t0 Y0 q0 Z# A( |( yand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 ?( X* P3 @# l0 ^0 _( e7 @* S6 g
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
, p2 H0 j& ]3 o+ B$ }0 G zretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; X. _9 f' g6 {' p3 h7 V# I( x YA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
! f) [( P9 ~; `/ h' |[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
% J1 _4 w! S2 j! R* L(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
6 z/ I9 I" Y/ f4 k0 k" Rretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% ~% Q1 e/ A5 ]. v% Y( U+ Spossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
! ~) K" ]' o. w7 N5 e(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
7 k+ J+ k1 _' n' Csegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a% Y: V6 J4 S' e6 Y& N* D2 Q; e/ r
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
* c6 M5 y! R8 Z7 i7 P- mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
8 y! S! p; x+ w0 _compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,; t9 U8 }" k( t. g8 T, j) T
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 A/ G* ?8 r( [: W3 R, A
# K5 e/ P* F3 O' `8 B9 T- h# f
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; v: k4 ~! v: d# _ Rand American speakers of English, |
|