 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
+ E* }' ]4 `4 {/ V% jInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the1 q, u& Z8 n7 P
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: c" W& e: Q+ n& T
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
1 z; Q# m, I6 _1 i(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of4 U4 G0 r, W9 H
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
7 w! m- @9 b: N# J, oA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=- E. f7 _3 T2 S+ S H4 O0 O
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] P2 U1 T7 O* K( P6 ~ `
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
_1 u6 B4 p, [# ?& bretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
2 W% T% `4 q: E$ ]& D, \possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset/ E+ U r6 e+ h, x% _( N
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two8 X6 T2 z3 v+ q8 S6 I) q& V
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
3 k) {# ~+ A! ?+ hsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
- f* r: q4 R! a! [end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In& E5 b5 c+ `1 a9 j
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, L; Y5 ?( T( R7 ^* t
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
4 u, k5 N/ \$ A. u8 Y
1 d5 R$ J# X- M( ?( \, R(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)2 e' a4 C4 O, W+ g6 T
and American speakers of English, |
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