 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( F$ G; s( ^4 r7 A
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the5 e4 M; R0 m2 S
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,; p' E% b: d* v
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
. f* {1 h* Y, N5 D( H/ B(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
) y$ c' G% ?) f+ q+ _* A/ E7 h! t' Wretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; N [1 @; v$ l, L v5 ~A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
& l* g2 D, t7 d2 U[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]# S7 E$ a2 i* |* `/ o9 E- W# N
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
: I) H+ L, i# C7 u& N( K. h" xretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
9 L3 R; F6 ]7 epossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
8 |5 d! U/ Y9 H* m(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two0 C& t3 W8 I) w+ q+ Z6 m- p6 {5 g
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
$ a! z2 ]* @- Tsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.& ^4 h+ N8 n& e. n1 @0 a
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 E: p* ?" q# ^0 `; Z
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
* s/ S- u- c a& \9 F: B$ Rthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 E& r( L# f4 t0 l9 K- n1 }5 [
! c( Z" W4 C4 P) \2 n(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)& X6 w& a. {7 Q
and American speakers of English, |
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