 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
# {7 s" w0 k u9 B) b1 \Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# b( V; v5 F; L/ K
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
" i+ r( r- h, D& uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
' k F" c M1 e' I" F* k(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
$ m& b$ l; o) |* ?6 z3 mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
6 P7 l9 o5 @: Y8 l- p- @' ]% OA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
" Z) ]1 s3 s: X1 Z K G[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”], S7 v% z9 |$ t9 p0 V, J3 I
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
4 \6 V4 p1 p* H$ Vretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on) B8 y) W; V9 \
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 e) Z/ B; \+ w/ C! k
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
* M" {; q0 H1 _! Hsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a: v. I5 |& b3 `7 [, p
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
. e6 u: [/ e* ^0 W& ]- n0 Aend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
) e n8 H& r* M2 @" o5 d5 T7 Ncompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, I0 }$ Z1 V- B% s. s
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
7 R% F+ C1 ]- Z; S1 Y
0 P; @) R/ {2 [1 B2 W( ?" d g(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
, x* e6 X5 ^( D# p+ P- |and American speakers of English, |
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