 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The/ Y8 j- y( ?3 |7 Y+ y& V6 w
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the* ]3 [8 G* \: s: y& K" N
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- y% ?* a1 p) R1 K: E" C }$ m
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial6 F: v9 R' R" i0 ~
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
0 T+ r; f# r3 a, R( J( ~) r$ vretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).4 a3 m- T& T1 B% d
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
, o4 k% U- x, w9 i7 n[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]" g2 H4 F* e/ s
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving6 O Z1 B) o( }, k, U, K
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on$ z' K" k) F- p) h5 j1 T
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset5 o. i& Z2 w3 Y
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
/ W+ A1 K @$ [8 L3 Osegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a Q& o/ E) B% @3 o6 k. u- P
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
: ~. x) |! P& Q4 @end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
: J% j! ?" a3 Xcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,) o2 B; m0 u0 S" m0 K: l
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
! v4 u4 T$ k( |0 ]( c4 b2 g7 W8 I- m% n' o0 G8 J. h! C
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
/ k- _6 E1 m$ T) r* x8 Land American speakers of English, |
|