 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
}: W8 X6 @. o6 u/ N& M/ E: eInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the3 d' }, W* @4 D' H, J
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
, K' D' P# z& _1 n4 n, [9 ?and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
4 v# @1 [2 Z4 f+ f% G! C4 P* K(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
9 |% c. S2 R9 B/ o8 I6 w+ @) Y% j1 wretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
. n" n5 R Y+ Z4 p) RA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
. U$ V; k: |! a& ]3 q" E[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 s$ c8 y' |7 O1 W% g2 h* H" Y(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
5 V; ]6 c5 w' i& O! P: gretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on# Z# r0 h/ l" D* w
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 v# f( x7 ?8 X$ w
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two- K( K! ]0 Z7 j! L
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
" M* E" |7 T Q/ X+ `semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
" x! q/ ~% x7 @( ]. X% ^end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
3 H" W! T9 a) N4 Z* h) }+ J, O* u7 rcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,2 X0 O+ s6 _3 t7 Z
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
1 K5 \% |$ ]' I- H5 N
! n, c+ K8 ^0 b2 k9 w3 M: A/ x(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
$ o$ u$ ^6 s6 w* Tand American speakers of English, |
|