 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 b; T) N" m* ]9 Z9 {
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
% D0 j' ]: @0 [7 \) ]. C3 \. g% @/ dsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- a; b' T& s6 p3 q8 p$ T" w6 r3 T& J
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial% G! p; B9 G) Q; V
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of- q5 m/ @- t0 P; u9 j
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).# W8 G2 {2 m6 F) ^! `# Y0 d* a
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
) _2 p% h) y9 o7 C! E[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 {# N/ V( V# S2 Q9 E4 w(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& X# G; h& t% Y4 Rretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
O3 U5 e. y5 v0 o) ?. ~3 Dpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
, q6 H! o) m" s p$ ](Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
: e: J* r2 b. r+ ]segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a" w7 i1 n; F' A3 v8 _
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) T4 i+ r. r+ jend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( M1 E: Y8 C) U4 [: o$ P- H
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
& v4 ^* P) F4 w7 L" lthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..6 K! j. f4 H; v8 C. E
" {$ ]5 P1 k% P# K1 M/ g
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
- B, C( ^/ x4 n5 ?# C0 z* _& _and American speakers of English, |
|