 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
2 q% M8 _) N1 m! i5 ~, k3 c% S* DInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the, i" x' A: l/ y
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in," {: F' \( B5 s- U/ E6 H( }) t
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial& \, i0 _4 J1 x# K5 A4 W& p
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of% [" t. J: V4 P2 f9 p
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).' y5 K$ T; K1 J" y+ m; i
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=0 ~8 P6 g6 Q& E
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
5 D2 o; B5 S4 d% a2 h8 V- [7 O(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
+ k2 N( d2 W) ^+ x& z" Hretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on5 W$ p0 o8 }; t8 `% P
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 Z2 Z6 N% \( Z: O' t2 Y$ T
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two, k; C9 m2 S! x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a! a0 l I5 |9 O+ A5 v
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.0 {. m( a- n3 e
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
6 p i+ Z2 O! i( ~$ K) Scompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,1 W. |: d3 u: G/ x) f' X& |/ J
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
7 B* G0 ?( V! u: n; U
0 P. b4 Q2 A+ }6 n X( s(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
$ \: H, b% D7 w: o2 d: l) Y* P0 \and American speakers of English, |
|