 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& }! ]# H# f* R6 D& g
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the& E; j( G1 _) {( O( [0 O$ }2 g1 X
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,5 y$ Q: f: n% C8 _0 ^
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial# s! e3 d& f1 U% o v
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of& e3 q# E( Q/ I3 p
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).3 I+ p! T; p4 s+ _
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% F/ Q$ f+ l' c4 [ p8 W' G: f
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
5 M |. K5 r) D" ~# j(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
% }% A7 j8 X) Aretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on+ V% Q: B L% O
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset+ I2 N& v: X, P8 n6 x9 O. [: K
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two+ {6 B' V; C2 C1 z8 |
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a" A4 K0 z, s, |6 j
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
# ^+ I" H6 R$ g( Fend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In: f9 ?, ]$ h; O) n. O( |
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,; z0 T8 |/ ?6 P7 Y7 {0 Y; r3 Y8 C5 {
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
2 z+ s; k9 |/ _) a% i' C( }! ?% U L! ?+ E% y' x* P
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)4 j: A3 K9 ~0 ]7 }% H G" _
and American speakers of English, |
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