 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
/ p8 x: I4 H& y. pInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the. L" L' c7 H( s$ v$ z& ~, q- q( N
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,2 j& g' b1 B! }$ w3 f* h4 ^. x
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
( F: C: O6 Q, a( `# {& N(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
( i6 }5 x, u0 [! qretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
v# A2 E/ z9 |! `: E* BA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
" L2 z, s7 R$ N( `[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
9 K; {6 x" n6 B& u5 {(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving& {8 s+ C* @& L0 d' k9 S
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on1 o. U# c/ ~4 u* _/ _
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset3 Y/ m w* E( u+ d' M6 f( [
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: E9 C5 \4 @2 T: m# {+ X
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
, Z8 U- v' _. c& z5 \semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
- p; ] w2 }- B* F' {end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In! [2 W/ s2 Y. h( q8 t
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
& k" x' Y" G& ?" }7 ^the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
/ y3 d+ c& ^' C0 ?6 x% W7 F$ B$ p9 q1 ]# N
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), U ^) M7 h; Z! i
and American speakers of English, |
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