Syllables
Syllables in Standard Chinese have the maximal form CGVCT, where the first C is the initial consonant; G is one of the glides /j w ɥ/; V is a vowel (or diphthong); the second C is a coda, /n ŋ ɻ / (if diphthongs like ou, ai are analyzed as V) or /n ŋ ɻ j w/ (if not); and T is the tone. In traditional Chinese phonology, C is called the "initial", G the "medial", and VFT the "final" or "rime"; sometimes the medial is considered part of the rime.
Not counting tone distinctions or the rhotic coda, there are some 35 finals in Standard Chinese. They can be seen at:
- Pinyin
- Zhuyin#Another_comparison_table
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Tables of all syllables (excluding tone and rhotic coda) are at:
- Pinyin table
- Zhuyin table
Read more about this topic: Standard Chinese Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word syllables:
“I remember the neckcurls, limp and damp as tendrils;
And her quick look, a sidelong pickerel smile;
And how, once startled into talk, the light syllables leaped for
her.”
—Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)
“This is the poem of the air,
Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
Now whispered and revealed
To wood and field.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)