 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The3 p5 S) x; G0 y1 V# X8 ]( b
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
7 c2 ]" M. j. z' Bsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
1 p) w; k. T# W- W0 N2 `and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
% W2 S* g4 x1 p(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of. A. F9 Y" [, D. [' q" A' M- }7 t
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).* T9 G) s+ Q8 T
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
6 O$ Y/ i" Y7 d! s7 ^/ W& \[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
/ Q; K( {* ]: h, n B# q0 ?(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving c* M! o \ T) S) a, ?- S. |
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
6 J4 f* z$ l& Qpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
$ S/ ~+ f, U% Z, t* v(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
. Y: F' z$ K/ y6 u/ k* w5 [segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
* ?) l& E* E3 p' }% j; ]) B7 usemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
( t$ n3 ?; e/ W0 R# z! x/ Qend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
6 N( b. A F" [, I) E% o, V9 gcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
7 y' z( H r2 Athe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
% h, J& x# `0 L9 O% K& D/ V# t$ Z$ B u' d/ D: ^6 X% L
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
* _9 ?0 m' V, R4 w2 I$ d! J7 i. eand American speakers of English, |
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