 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
# |. R5 t9 ]0 }: T6 hInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
& F) w) }( T8 B( Ksyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,5 V2 g) A' i+ \8 Q2 R+ h! ~: h
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
" u" S) g: Y5 {! P(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of2 x7 m+ c' A6 ?
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).8 j: e, A4 J1 f- {9 q, ~
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
5 G6 X2 x. A' [# _: p[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]# J2 }2 t0 X1 N" f- H. n
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
* Q2 O6 v' }5 \8 x- x- xretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on# w1 k0 Z6 x( g5 @
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
# v3 X% y! q0 ~1 c, m% @: m R(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two, O" j# y& ^) {/ e/ c( i
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a. v) T1 u8 b% W" B9 v+ o# N9 L" G
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) m2 `5 C6 V/ Oend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In: \- G$ y3 I- n5 U0 ^5 B" I
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
( m0 Y l8 \ G4 ?the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 H o, C3 O! w1 `( ?7 N1 T9 u( }
/ h+ A0 \% D5 R( ]+ ]
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)% P: a) \ _1 h$ M/ ? r
and American speakers of English, |
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