 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# P9 }2 c0 f _" Z# I
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
2 U, o4 ~3 t0 U* |9 }syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in, e$ W* P, ~+ `7 U2 Z3 \. x. _# X
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
* Z( v h! k0 U: a0 N. l" b( r(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
! D$ y& }: R+ `' m+ ~retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 m" N3 p* z; ^
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% b. i! k, ^" [3 z" Y, m
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]* D) {# g; e% \. n+ _% P
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
! y& J. F0 f1 o5 K4 s" U( hretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on4 j7 M: {$ T2 ]- n
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
; u+ p" v* Y: N: Y4 z(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
4 P2 K* V& x+ z7 P' |5 csegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
# I& w1 {1 j: W8 l6 K9 Qsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
; f7 |1 w& E O# k2 N7 J4 Uend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
& f; A7 X9 E9 F2 d$ W3 y9 Acompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,0 v5 k# b' G, m
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..; ^) G, n; F& E
- H: l) W4 O3 Y f5 ~/ f(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
3 t0 @" _2 R% h6 }; ^. mand American speakers of English, |
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