 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& ^$ B, \) t, ~' t( h' j5 _9 L4 T
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the& d% o e* B2 S" |
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
3 v3 h7 o9 f" `and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial# K2 A4 B9 [, p* g3 I3 [7 D- O* ^
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
/ E. m0 a2 h% f6 ^, N( |$ Eretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
5 A& e; E: M& Z7 q# CA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
- ~ h8 n: b& s1 g& U @[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]( A; X2 Y0 K# R3 [) n
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving0 k% X1 a6 w2 J" |' g! p
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
8 F8 r; F: x/ |& ipossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
/ S+ J9 K" h, T l+ y(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two' W O% n2 b9 A2 J& v
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a7 \+ t: F" O {
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e./ P% r" L+ ~, R4 l
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In' X8 F% g7 a2 P
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
8 [/ E' I, u( T0 w' a+ p4 Ethe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..# S1 p& w7 I% G, N* U$ w
0 Y: `9 t. T) s. E: e# Z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& l1 @ m6 v6 U* F7 T1 i0 iand American speakers of English, |
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