 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 E$ b8 J0 A7 C6 H
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the, j; S. w K4 b0 z" ^4 w
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' _! a7 `4 ]6 N+ Q! Rand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
. r& x# E0 `# s2 F' g: n* ?(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
1 `! ^8 s2 }+ c; o: F( Oretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).5 [* X8 \" N Z4 w! V
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=) h6 }% S, M7 }' T
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]& P7 Q5 Y3 R% F
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
6 M: L& `* `, q6 a0 @retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% ^, t. j8 l" o& G! Ypossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
6 G1 a) o5 e; a- k(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two9 I5 b/ U' u1 W4 r9 h
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 v6 U! a- h6 V2 L% l) O1 o
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
% G9 x0 {: ^# y( k% R, c U kend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In9 u/ g! }3 v5 o, a. i' e- C$ P
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
' {* ~& i. i2 V" }the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& o! k0 p& I$ \$ @
9 k. K* x- P0 _( O) N(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
) z0 U, U9 j; Z. R: p. D/ yand American speakers of English, |
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