 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
" @. r* B7 S. ~3 ~, h& UInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 N8 b* a: p3 |9 W, p
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
1 \- g8 H* C9 Q8 iand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
. b: ]+ D2 I& h/ ^1 G- n) V(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of4 |2 ^( }$ h9 t2 K5 `+ e4 ^
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
' e/ n- A. C! `, y3 hA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=+ z+ ?$ S7 G3 e/ C
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]' n$ G* ^8 P2 b" c: P0 r8 T& V3 l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
' w0 y+ @$ y. y' rretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
^2 \& h, f* y+ }+ I+ V4 Fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# K. }. [; b5 _) M" V( s
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
1 g; C7 s# n `! x% ~segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
9 B* y7 ~8 m" F# A3 x6 asemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.& Z% c4 t" m4 Z1 W0 m. K7 U
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In' l- H9 B+ |/ e, W6 v# O
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
8 `( n0 ]) Q" m }the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& i# Q& B3 `; Y& l9 k+ {- R8 j, m# E2 ?9 V
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
# x6 g, e u8 d# w# r4 nand American speakers of English, |
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