 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The: L, s1 s& g: H+ i, w
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# C- O( f6 j6 W- M* n
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
S V8 S; ~8 l$ vand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial( h- e/ U9 j3 H( [6 }
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of* p1 g4 P) I {% q
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 q- T0 A: n; g9 q2 q# k/ a" qA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=3 U+ d3 y, S. j! j
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 S( g9 ]+ j, @" j6 W6 d) X(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
$ W5 r4 u- M M* E4 ]" S: I! Sretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on% K8 U5 C5 }: W1 ]% o8 G% F
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 i' Z6 R/ X) S7 x6 P( V(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two2 Y) @8 J+ \' H5 x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
4 t1 Z( \2 D4 Z# S1 }6 vsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.3 Z/ j# C* n+ W
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
6 M7 {7 h, V, h& U1 gcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,% O6 p; Y, k8 m5 q7 j( ]
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
+ L) X; z" T0 F
0 m' U; u7 _$ d+ N3 `) y(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)6 J0 G1 j5 v/ a( `
and American speakers of English, |
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