 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The6 H1 B8 C' L, F- q- I; h
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the: ]6 v; A3 i J$ ^' y/ h% a
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
) G4 F2 V0 t: h# H+ Pand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
& A1 m& U5 E( U) K0 }(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% o) w5 \! J. oretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
9 K! |/ o+ V9 iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
# H* A7 i( g! _ r5 p8 w[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]- @% R! {! X$ J2 z" f9 ?9 k
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
0 X1 D' Y/ J) F0 pretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on0 \. [2 ?8 i6 A# J8 ?; G
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
) A8 m) J# Z- x9 g+ P1 T4 m' H(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two+ K* T- B! q0 }
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a% A q( g3 u6 J: c! |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.3 o- N; e5 O! h
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ E6 C" l3 o; f4 X# j2 y% n' G" Dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,: k" b8 Y( E( b. V9 I8 Q: O
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
, Y( r* s# l- O% a/ k
$ e: R+ R5 G' D) t3 J. }" H0 i(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
! i: h. o2 t6 V( L y, kand American speakers of English, |
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