 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
5 [$ J( s- Q/ aInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the( J% u( | P( r
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,0 ]3 r5 e8 c: H* C5 f9 j6 b6 X
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial' n2 k( J0 i, ?/ h+ U" w( x
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
( `, q7 c3 T1 H; bretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).4 ?' S) N% g$ [/ u4 F
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ [+ E. W5 I( e2 g# T/ r+ J
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]3 R( T7 M% W2 P3 A l. I
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
# g7 @3 e! J3 w. nretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on' }- k8 r- b0 g+ |% O
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 L! g* a( c3 W
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: n% n0 K7 ?& J3 H
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
' a7 c6 z$ e- S* Y& x2 W" ssemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( U; I3 |9 G5 K
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In4 x& ?- ?8 n9 ?+ Z1 h9 {
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
5 |4 D# S6 t: J- r8 a! ?* K5 `the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 s) e2 f1 j- f! ~9 N1 B
, y* k" C8 C" B4 T% q
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)3 U# ?6 f* i- Y* u
and American speakers of English, |
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