 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The% G% _! A8 {3 O% p2 D
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 F* c4 e! d/ T. F
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' q" ~0 j0 a r3 p+ d. U+ H5 Mand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial6 H) I- x/ x6 u
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
9 N" B+ K; S& R! \retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’). g7 ]- [- A L8 @; ], k% P
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
$ g$ { ^6 k/ ]" \+ e0 _[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] P' H( M( @/ I! J7 z) D
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
2 S1 z! p0 T" S/ Jretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
0 U: p6 j5 v6 J: y; b9 spossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 U/ G( Z# H4 m& H* [; _' o(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
+ D1 O1 g& {9 G3 C4 N( @segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a# h L6 x5 w; s7 G" `: }9 e
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.6 w! v9 [! M/ N6 X) o
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
$ k& i) j( ]& u6 u0 r5 v; ecompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
" A' j( t4 J) r/ N# Ithe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
1 ~$ Z! o5 q! }9 C& B
3 K" v. L; r& z' _; Z2 J(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
6 |$ c+ s% W( p- S. g0 k( Cand American speakers of English, |
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