 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
: Q% |" E; E+ cInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the1 z1 i8 l: Q) n" P
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
: `% m/ l# o6 _, } a# O6 eand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial7 l+ m2 ?# q( k m
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
+ J/ D1 ^) L9 d1 `retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).9 Q8 }$ K) g( R- s
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=- @3 N' w; J( C9 U) g
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
+ D y; ?- x: t* p2 v(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving) ]$ P- ^6 D- C6 N7 A
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
) ?- i& G; I3 F# i upossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset ^/ x+ _- H6 s! n: e. ^
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two6 N# N' f; ~! {* s
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a5 F! d7 D' o! W
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 r8 {# z. R! l, }4 o' `( Gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
5 ]3 T5 t2 k3 A: K0 H- Y: mcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
/ p! L' e {6 jthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
8 P! I0 e$ t; v: D
: v5 A/ g/ A5 B" F2 E- c; l(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)- z% _8 S8 d; L) l. R: S
and American speakers of English, |
|