 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
6 b& k" D( X* U, M! U$ Q3 t* b YInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
& k4 Q% o$ z: bsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,; t" `& u# N1 C- |# |8 S
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
* H' Y+ I( r9 ?5 c% A6 @(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of; [: S1 c2 C) T4 _" S, a1 ]5 q
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
- T" y7 \5 ?% b) D4 k3 I$ mA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=' X" M- ^0 ^3 N, P) N, [) q/ i
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]2 S( j# h0 q- C8 c& o4 {
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
9 o3 g9 y- ?. b) f) G: ~, kretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on' N" s( @. I6 M: \7 i
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset. A c# c+ v: G. J# s
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
% P0 I) F$ m; c- O9 Vsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a g" o3 f) K! n! A& @: u
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
2 y% W: W" Q I, Wend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
5 X4 S, s0 K, w2 X/ ~& [compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
6 R9 u9 M+ B6 h( }8 ~the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
3 K$ w8 j5 U# e! g" K9 w7 S
- [3 V5 N; c& [. D) d% p* V9 M8 b(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), }! A L; l! [6 S! {7 X" z5 @) q
and American speakers of English, |
|