 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
2 c1 f) P6 N- O+ NInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 t: L* b2 d. d t' [0 T
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
% K5 d; o( m6 Band uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
6 v8 F, o4 w7 d X1 u! h& Y- e(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
5 J+ C* I( ?+ v2 gretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).+ ?4 |( r" A+ e+ T1 O2 P, b; Y
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ H; g* c& B+ O, c
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
. |6 e, q+ F' K# W( i(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
, p8 V2 f2 Q3 O# u0 M$ ^0 Lretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on$ Q- _! D7 J; e8 B0 ~; }# j! p
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset$ L8 A7 J; t, g- ^
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
( i3 x3 H: A, Q6 k9 j/ Esegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a( S6 q; v' u2 |( Y4 B$ H
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
, w6 X9 H. m; c1 ?1 F, L# jend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In3 ~0 c0 ^" W S1 Z
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
4 O! H9 K. J8 bthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.., a7 p* |9 a' Z+ g6 C
$ U( D, R0 p- d7 k% ]8 X1 v' Q
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
" {6 a) C. M; n& _and American speakers of English, |
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