 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The3 y) _; ^0 \4 T) z3 R
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
8 M6 I1 n1 i7 ^5 d& Vsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,6 ^8 ]$ S' @2 f7 f5 q
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial6 S* o: Z( K: g" J) ]5 n0 f8 j
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
: x( n* ^, l+ z! s4 zretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% S% p6 v# G& T1 c" VA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=+ x* ~- {6 D; X* v+ ~" W S
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
e1 G) q2 s' B- t/ R2 m$ [(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 ~: w1 d3 W0 V; T
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on% G# Y8 D0 l2 }9 U5 V$ z6 _
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
6 O! p6 y( R7 Z: H# h(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
! O! ?1 C4 y2 Xsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
3 g7 d& O/ H0 f$ l# r; E4 U+ `1 B; Osemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
* M/ ^! j& Q3 W8 ~end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In# W1 T ~* n5 `6 x
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
2 r' S8 z5 R2 F/ e* Y( Ythe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
* v! x& E. C K% ~# M/ [; _* i/ w5 U" H" T
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)6 \( W* f2 A3 i( r# m
and American speakers of English, |
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