 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
: Y* Q/ R* E+ ?, g8 |Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the0 H. V& q/ N$ d7 s% }3 O3 ]1 [
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
& T$ O0 |* y @and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
0 F8 f0 w+ z ]- b9 M3 ^* @& U) V(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of l& a1 e* g7 }! J
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).- T% A0 Q: k* Z: U: I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% g( T, J! |3 d4 d
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 a2 r: O) Z: a. I$ R
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving: c+ l3 ?6 w) I( T5 [
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on5 F% {: f& ^) L2 E! |
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset/ ~: n; P% V6 G
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two# C q% m- w% ?8 f
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a. A* D7 R8 K2 {) v
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) U. ^4 J( f7 O$ _' B0 ]end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
) I4 p: f+ G5 v [compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; j1 b7 Z+ Q6 V* s! Dthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
% M& U" n7 r9 F- P$ w) h( L( U$ O$ {! d
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
% @' U3 A7 O0 ]- L4 s. c# Y% Nand American speakers of English, |
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