 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The. A- j" k0 w, E! b4 ~1 K# f3 Y
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
4 g; b4 j# ^# T. esyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
% b* N" h( u, d5 K! O, Vand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
+ P/ {( R6 b3 Q7 K) [. K: Z(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of# O+ J; i8 f0 t; I! R1 w9 I
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).+ ~5 J1 [- ]6 \3 v. W9 B. c8 J
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
& q' e, n& A* X) Q j+ f. i[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]/ W* U& B `) J; N {
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving7 I0 x ~ e' _+ Z* b; C
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
- o7 v: x. q" S8 k) q$ S- ~possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset% p+ f5 E8 s3 y
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( Y! f8 c& B% \6 k6 Y5 x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
- \5 n4 V: g `# }, Q0 csemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& m: C! C3 b2 X! m2 tend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
7 S; u: m0 \5 Q3 e icompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,$ n" e4 c- ^9 H! A
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..( I! O M: \4 i! F/ n
* |% z! d8 W c0 G
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& U+ a! m) z& z7 \. h, T8 `and American speakers of English, |
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