 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The, b% {( o8 ^# n: u: t8 E; b
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
, [) t# E3 _' A. Qsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' c) V) G% G% a& `and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
: e4 A$ k, }0 r4 x(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
' F( B W) l# i) k d! m9 Iretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).- K4 p M: O; A7 E* I3 i
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=' S, k5 L& m, y! T& u B% ~
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]8 F6 k4 w8 E) O% Z% t
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
+ Y8 g/ T$ [. R+ eretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
5 p0 _ I+ W* m/ Rpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset/ t9 s2 T" [/ w y$ n
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two) y* n3 C# H, e/ H3 W0 `( H
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a5 Y. x. N6 ?5 k5 u+ S& ~
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& u5 g) k$ U7 B# M2 yend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
: r0 |: f1 R |* x: _' s' b% ^compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
, u" G7 S5 l: A5 i7 Q3 Ythe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 V2 K' {2 }" X' p) f$ K
( m2 B, w: S+ W. O1 ^% R(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)* L) d3 H+ F6 k; h6 g3 G; ^
and American speakers of English, |
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