 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The. p% X3 Y$ W0 Z6 q0 `
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# W; {# Q2 a3 r1 X. T- a o8 J4 ?
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,' y1 z0 A% L( x+ O F. q" _& ^$ h
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
) v7 }' d1 Q! S! c+ n2 c(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& i( D8 u5 F0 [# z! Tretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).8 ^0 p' m8 C; Z2 M
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=* e* K! B# x6 Y1 p. [
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
( {2 h( s) O) j. S0 S(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving6 [" }" x7 h; t8 v r- q
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 n$ _' a' C, K; n
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& Y }( I7 v! Y8 H(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* V5 ]/ p/ d! N
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
9 D& w! o$ X( C. qsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.' [" o+ |: y- c& Z, k9 |+ F ~
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
: }# y$ [. T2 s3 i4 W* Xcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
- @' m# o& \5 r1 }% n% _- Ethe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
8 g2 |0 j: A) p/ E/ t) q& J! l$ ]6 k4 V
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
0 @5 t5 y' W- E. V4 {and American speakers of English, |
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