 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( E7 R# k* b# n; ^6 Q K
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
3 | ?1 H' U7 m0 vsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,& _. D5 h) x% v+ r
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial2 f* _$ b9 _/ W" X
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 U j8 r, p$ Q, S5 Aretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).' u. D4 l$ H& F: ]8 z ^9 L' R) _
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=- O7 [& B/ P0 f3 C
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 _% d, a0 {9 |! Y1 m* m(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving; J/ c& v/ \7 N5 k, i3 j7 h3 ?
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on) S! r* ~1 }% b: g5 A( ^
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset& k3 g f/ u' R% D
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
- R# x6 u5 _3 v' u+ b- C; M$ b, j9 Ssegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
) |2 X9 a @3 G% j, ?& s$ ?semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.1 {# Z/ ^: t1 F! @, y
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In! R8 C9 H; |* @% R# n) Z0 T
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
+ ]% Q$ D& S0 Y- vthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
* a, r( _: u4 [$ K4 Z2 T" o' j6 k+ c- A1 w5 r
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)( n/ d! p4 f$ | S
and American speakers of English, |
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