 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 t$ d; F% o6 ~$ h+ h
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
, J7 ^& a8 [; o8 ?syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
) I+ N( J0 J/ s/ ^. iand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial3 B+ s5 z" m0 n
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 l5 y$ F0 v K
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
5 d. i. E3 A) E. VA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
/ Z4 U4 s" G( M[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
' Q" q' r, x1 ^0 [(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving4 M. Z& Q* l1 m: o
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
/ W/ e e3 j) q' |5 Fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
/ e4 Z, Q* r. K6 l. e3 C: B/ X% z( q(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two+ r: q) {, b9 @, d' _
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
+ d. H; |. D# A: j% e9 V5 W1 lsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
+ M, Q9 V. b4 ]+ I7 t+ lend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In5 E$ l6 b( G7 ^8 l+ A
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
5 v u1 {; V, I6 F% E1 j8 ?5 F/ ]8 Rthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..! _7 |6 Y6 d0 M4 ^6 v2 ^. i% j
: i/ m: J/ c" G2 i
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
+ _3 P2 U- l* C2 {and American speakers of English, |
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