 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& g+ I! E$ p+ |2 |% I3 U
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
$ b8 |, T, A# Vsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
2 i! X2 B7 D. O3 _1 T& Jand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial2 w" b, S0 o' o/ `- A5 f% I# v
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
5 g' h: K- y4 v' c1 ?% q! gretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 ^8 f: r; e! v9 a$ E# \: [A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
3 x0 u) A4 a2 s) U: ]5 b5 b[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
], k* z+ u9 j) ]. Z6 ]# T- N y(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& ^+ R& c( G8 N' x8 m1 [3 Eretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on8 Y+ a; C, W4 g1 N
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
6 s" E1 |* `- i( l2 T(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two G' h. `% g$ z* G
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
& b0 G g3 w- ^8 vsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
" S0 u' |& z0 mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
) y+ h$ o5 f6 O" d, _compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
: I; o& N, m: U3 T2 e+ J& ~the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..( N& ]- L b( p0 X2 H
* Z" M6 l$ h3 ~! g( {9 ]/ d(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)2 G4 X: I3 Q! z7 Y6 _
and American speakers of English, |
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