 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The s, z+ J1 N; v6 v
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
& j8 c% M# ^4 I) u; m7 r* ksyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
# m! }: ?. j `/ |& @and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial) }* f/ b+ d8 M7 @
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of2 H! }. S, Z) m
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).9 l, G# ?) u% V7 _7 \. r
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
. \3 H. g' R7 V! A$ m# I2 p[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
' l% R+ H0 z5 t* \- y. A5 I(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
2 B, ~; e. W. }3 E. z# yretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on9 |# Y8 L8 Z4 j5 a4 i
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
9 N6 y. \5 }: m5 s% s& @(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two9 H9 @! o4 ^ t3 z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
0 _% y5 ~2 m+ L8 P4 fsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.# d, x" `# |! g7 B3 w" K
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
7 \. y+ K4 F& z! I! _' z* x9 Fcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,; Z- |7 u8 c5 A& n
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..) z- M% b' w5 n. v4 @
) z5 b9 n6 e6 N9 W(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 @/ j+ @0 H0 X8 A- ^# c/ Kand American speakers of English, |
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