 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The6 y3 f- t: N0 c- j u, p
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
T; b X9 l( g+ H/ H. z) \syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
6 n' k: u# w' F' ^9 x& e5 [and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial( ~, Y {4 i0 R' J
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of. D" u* C+ {+ E' y
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
3 p1 [: E5 ?3 r+ `3 M! ~4 R( oA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=# u# B* _$ j+ `8 O- {& g# N! [
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”], {3 R V% j. [1 F
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 p0 Q7 g& E& ?' m* o8 tretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
- l3 I' d4 \$ [& B0 _possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset- v1 A5 a" u% s: z
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
: k; K. e7 M, D% d6 g5 h5 k* Lsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
* Q+ } Y' O- u% `! G2 }semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 y: \& _6 J- u7 [" ^2 \$ l; Dend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( E! W! _; m# o( Q
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
! N/ ]! ?, n' s9 S6 W8 S4 fthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..; a- l+ w1 M- d3 `) q
6 h& N" q9 R' J(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)8 I. Y; \4 s/ c9 v* P
and American speakers of English, |
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