 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The% l1 R! t( F C9 p! z
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the; {/ K1 a7 z1 o/ ?2 S4 Q: S
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- q0 Y) U0 J) C# `; O/ H
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
3 F! o% {/ \9 w. k* t(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& I2 G0 X( [& [( n$ J# Q5 Tretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)., f2 L' A7 _0 I$ ~5 p
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
( _* k5 q8 {1 i5 e% R+ ?[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]8 O% `+ J @# r9 o
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. F0 A# d/ U C8 K: ?- |- `retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on9 F3 p1 g; q/ `; y2 d+ ]( g
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
; M* Q% T0 j" Q2 N% w2 u, X(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
( r5 B/ J" t+ e: |segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a2 i9 F! F% z7 P, e
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.7 u* R3 @" z& Q3 L. h2 x
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In" o# U5 P! s) K
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
/ B$ a" z( J& p8 nthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..% K7 M3 n9 o. q! \" _3 F4 R
2 |0 e2 L+ M ~1 {+ w5 B
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
$ i, S4 V# ]" ?) L+ band American speakers of English, |
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