 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
" H# H) n8 N( i) PInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
! g, x6 x4 A5 h6 i% v" ^syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
4 Z4 c" b& ]* a% Tand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
4 F F! R. G9 h6 X0 V(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
- X7 Z- Z! m# A U1 Tretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).1 _5 j; O0 j$ ~4 h3 ?9 }+ a
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=# o% {! [& o0 t/ n! O, j
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
( W; E/ {) b! Q* s: }(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving7 J1 j* s: S# }9 }
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on8 r+ v/ H! h2 J' G
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# }# t8 B* m5 X1 f
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
2 i1 f- \4 t5 U4 h, Gsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a) m8 ] k! ]4 n
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e." Z* B+ s. }7 W# ?. @- W ], H. e
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In# J# }5 n' |; b2 O d4 ?: _
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
1 D c( ]# p; ~9 h* a5 M, o, C! }( jthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
- Y4 @8 J4 } s. k5 A1 B* g* e
! ], _) ^! C' N% {4 { q# x(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)4 \3 h* ~# T, N4 q7 t# X9 N
and American speakers of English, |
|