 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( f" g; _+ r! `( ?& [
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
; f% g- q5 U) Z+ D5 Q* w ^. ^+ |syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in, p* e0 u" I+ U/ r8 R# D& S: K
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 `7 x- n4 _' U( z
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of- `% k( Y& T6 r- |
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; q% O4 K" R) l3 fA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
$ V3 {' @, P7 T4 `" D! c! @4 g6 r[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]; n* E- p; Z1 A
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
; E Y+ S" X0 ` E2 b7 Eretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on6 J5 v! |7 w! F3 `
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
- M" [1 q! W* E(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two) B5 c, m9 n- L$ Q$ Q
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& V5 C! R% ~* |4 C. w5 A9 |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
; | ]+ J( z% R9 j, send with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
W, V/ r( [' O3 P% {! g/ |4 Dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,6 F+ w3 D& {2 d7 j# {
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..# O; k" p7 `. a& _. p
5 s$ B! p# i' y& o8 Q% j' ~3 J(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
/ [, D1 z8 V- R/ m3 }4 Land American speakers of English, |
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