 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The) ~3 y& ?& C% t% w- g3 L( I
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the. y. e5 j1 s. c K( z
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
; R6 Q6 |, |5 h. u( s, ?, gand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; N( \) V- ]+ z# X T
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
$ p) O" E- A3 H8 jretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).6 s$ K! {+ w% L3 D
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
6 T& H, O5 S X* R# [/ f# T3 Z" E[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 a* o2 X; M5 H! a4 l! c3 k(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving9 F4 M4 [2 o, b5 ^; H
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on& Q% l3 h" C; E
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
/ [, P. N7 G. l! |(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: X" w0 ? J# \" z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& W; u: M: b/ o* Q+ E3 c4 R
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.4 i& ]; e* S9 n, R9 H
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 @1 l7 w: J' \+ A
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
' w0 [. J2 C8 K8 M$ Xthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
: ]# [" j7 |: w7 ~2 T$ k# A4 h& `; [4 `2 L' W( q+ T; f/ h
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
8 O( S I: B! k1 w3 Dand American speakers of English, |
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