 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
- h, C4 g6 ]8 }! s, @6 aInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
2 C. h4 p, F) }9 [- h; Bsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,0 e/ A2 |( w0 H% E. s: t
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 b$ n: `2 Q, v
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of9 l! D/ o6 Z# o1 m' R% Q5 J$ g& B o
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).$ H) V5 ~7 ~; [5 F
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
* U1 r; v& m) ^* ]7 @6 l9 ^[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]5 v3 u( z5 h0 L# \' K
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving! E: D9 X: J0 h6 b1 S) c8 Q7 a4 I
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
* K5 }* X) t6 \9 g9 f3 h" L! jpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
1 j9 m6 ^2 `2 u1 I! |* B(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: D9 S% N8 w! ~8 a5 b' Q
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a7 |2 \' \3 `! n. m$ _# `
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
% A9 S- r& q* \: _+ Aend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
; h" M P7 L) H* E- _, A8 Pcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
" ?4 t( q6 t0 Z* ~3 Fthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
# k) I/ b. k; ~1 W% |7 D4 K0 G0 _& Z$ P' b
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 A0 a$ t4 v$ n$ tand American speakers of English, |
|