 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The1 O' ?5 ^$ ?( E
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the- Z5 V x5 V) _3 n% c
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
; K- n- H; l" q; H* ^and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial: G* Q4 y( F% i M
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% D6 `6 J3 c2 @4 b6 V/ Qretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).. b% I9 ^) q9 g2 X! \7 f
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=8 o1 d( k& [+ N$ a
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
, r1 P1 Q( c( V' E(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving: S+ x8 p( p* H. p
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on; U) n! W6 I- @& v W
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& Q, f% Z( ? a$ z7 @5 u(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two1 e$ q$ @: o) G
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a1 g) m4 x, ?) {2 ^0 a
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.! S" E' U& a6 U) Q0 v0 @* i
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In' Q& q+ n8 S1 h$ L" j% |+ N
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
9 w) @( v1 U) U$ k0 g) ~8 Cthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
3 l) \! l( l6 j( U- j/ T4 r
9 V% m8 h9 i4 \0 I1 M. T9 H(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
$ k W4 d! `" G& |2 K; u& land American speakers of English, |
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