 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The6 h7 ^/ B" T Z+ Q
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
9 r8 R* M/ Y- O9 J2 m1 j {syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,) B: K4 h4 E, F- j" f$ p. z
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial/ a' R$ S7 W% g6 O8 b
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# J% O9 K) N1 D/ P5 D1 I) e' \retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
& q8 P+ Z. @9 Q- qA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=6 m5 _5 L+ H F; j. y: u
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]7 }; q" f8 C4 E; J }9 O0 g; W* n) ?
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving& i/ s: {/ w6 S
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on; l& D* z' L% ?: z
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset3 m1 C+ i! D4 [) J* V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
: [; B% [6 H9 D/ ?segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
7 e3 U: D# f3 lsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
' d9 x0 ~$ \ o5 Aend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
3 @% b+ f! Z3 Lcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
/ K% ?8 W- [/ H/ W7 L" ]the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 v6 O4 S$ H2 q* c% D4 t& E' D5 q
! q0 @2 `; i) A% M2 Z" \8 ]2 f
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
* q! s! Z: I; k; t0 ~and American speakers of English, |
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