 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The6 }2 k3 C8 [; f, e
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
; p: o% h" g* _: Usyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
% B& h) W: K* Rand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
% ?; }* t) [2 u/ @# `+ e r(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
4 J2 O% V" Q6 e) Sretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
6 a3 d5 p; B' u$ m- fA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
% o: A+ f4 y1 ?' k[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] n2 q) I+ K3 ^# V! I9 s
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving+ B/ j' [2 ^6 z
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
" C) c5 b# ^6 Xpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset3 X; G/ k# `. M+ ?
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
# s6 f1 k0 M7 G6 j* Dsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
, F* W/ y( r4 t- z( J1 bsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. i: O2 M: [- l5 S+ T0 G' ?
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
3 D5 P1 [/ ?/ A& I) w3 @compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, |9 O- Y1 w- p1 d, ~/ w, j$ Z
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.." Y, W" a! k' M s$ S# k
3 z$ }# G8 L& D2 I1 N- p8 Q0 C
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)8 @ ~1 o- }2 K& x5 v& j; i$ o. z
and American speakers of English, |
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