 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
" B$ Z8 a1 a" mInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
' \$ ]7 w+ P9 U( ]4 x: D8 [syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,+ O" F, I5 E1 Z# C. s% h8 |
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; j3 g6 U, D& k! d6 r, N
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of* h' \0 u& z# [& ^) w
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).! B. v) x3 B% X3 I, j+ ?
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
" p" E8 }. v% {% i- H4 k[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]7 T/ X4 w! z% K
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 H& {. |/ d" F/ f7 ]retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
/ I: S5 ~: x% o" |possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 r1 T) }$ [) K& D
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
" w" j3 o( R( n( Isegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a- o# h" D& g% Q1 z# p
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
$ p% u" B1 @7 @ {# |end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In4 s0 w0 g" s* E/ a5 a8 o
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,5 P$ p5 ^9 W/ s& V" i6 e4 d, a* a/ ^
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..3 Q1 ?8 x/ a0 d& s
$ x6 U+ | Q4 C& Z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)9 v# _. }1 d0 k) E( G3 r
and American speakers of English, |
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