 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( d* Y w& k; F
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the" E" r. B1 Q3 _+ F E5 R+ r
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,8 n3 i* n) M4 x. t- d3 _8 T
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial- h e: }8 T3 ?9 M) @
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
0 @* O; z ]2 s- w- G) _2 hretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
- y4 @: e+ ~! i7 aA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ d) C: C+ v1 i
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 t2 u( |3 o, `4 o( U3 O(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 Z) {* K2 l- J6 c
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on' L+ k" Z, y4 d- G; k2 x
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
6 @# N# }$ X$ s4 ^! ~" ?(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( W5 W) C+ B, s% M
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a" ^- G. S; f5 \$ ^$ B. T: c4 v
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.- @. [3 p* ^; q0 B
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
6 c% ~1 W0 }1 [2 v" e: E3 S" }compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; R! R( i. [( ]/ \) c. g+ Lthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
; t P$ Z p) v6 R- u1 i# b5 W# W. v2 I: K' n1 N& o
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). n% @; P. _5 X. t8 K
and American speakers of English, |
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