 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The: z4 z% F# |( R1 j8 k. O
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
1 N( M6 ~# D& Osyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' L) l5 j0 x& v: vand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial2 v' `9 K' U a2 k9 p9 f" e
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
1 Z; u @8 p: Q8 ^) iretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).$ f1 {2 e& Z* V2 K
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
. j6 X/ T# t3 K2 G$ e3 N[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
) T1 T0 i V2 X3 Y$ }(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving- B& d! h8 M5 O/ }* T1 v/ i6 e4 U( i
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
( P$ E7 V9 N! O" ]possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset0 t9 h% {7 k$ l: ]& Y& O2 I, x
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
, c% j- G# \$ D4 m5 c/ K8 Zsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a6 F1 G9 `3 J2 N- C
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
+ z! u: o' i8 }% t6 }" _. dend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In0 |# Y( t$ [6 b
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
@$ G; n! u& T- l' ]9 X( w! D1 sthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..7 t ~, ]1 |& Z5 b
! }& U$ `4 B4 a8 t' [$ w a
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
- G# {* V5 W( [7 mand American speakers of English, |
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