 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The+ U( X F- [. d" {; C& P0 B
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) X! p N- y5 k
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
, i1 B7 k8 R3 ^' g: Y" X5 ?! Eand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial' n$ D' |* ~' v) ?: B) i
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
$ B5 `5 i/ Z! O: Uretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
7 G9 k' A8 \9 @4 x1 l# p4 |3 QA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=- P0 k$ P$ [" i# b
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]: y- Z2 I9 K! \" U: e' [
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving* b! B: \, F* _' e2 ?, x2 o
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on7 v+ p( A/ a' y' D
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset. F2 f' u4 ?0 w
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
0 L7 v3 P x1 X& B9 `segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a" o$ e7 W- P1 ~1 D( x
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& b) n) n/ g6 p8 W( {. Cend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In9 b! W6 F- @1 W, \
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,* r" |: I( H6 f, @, n
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& U8 [3 Z- p/ x% J/ M. y! e$ [, w# u
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
( R3 Q( f# W: @1 r3 b" R; Zand American speakers of English, |
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