 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
9 w, D" t; i" M" y; u' \* U( {Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
I7 b! A+ r5 psyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,3 Y/ z& Y( m$ [7 j
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
. e5 H9 ?7 _/ s5 n# J(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
! u0 a. y$ P1 O' zretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).% t y5 }0 f" ?4 W! w+ y2 H: y7 C8 g
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=5 v$ \# y F8 G! ]2 a. f( f
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”], ?) t8 P: Z+ ]% V" j
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving" L7 m* T/ ~* A, D H
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 q" V7 a/ ] q7 ^possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
7 _7 u8 |+ o" o1 y0 w" m2 P: m: i(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two |5 n- O- T2 i8 b, h: |2 b
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a, D1 p, J! }8 y. X" ]( y2 ?; {9 I
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
2 I Y0 ?; @! Y$ Z: o$ Lend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
\2 h/ R8 |! ucompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,- \5 j$ o8 Q* H: C& U+ N) I$ i
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..& g1 b |# n- e* ?' _
z6 E0 a" g7 y
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)7 G+ U) m* B' O; }& f
and American speakers of English, |
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