 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The% f0 z) O2 `4 ~1 E& U; l
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
$ }, Z" Y K7 O. p4 x! j, |syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
2 |: c. x; Z/ j% {1 W& zand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
7 Y4 y( }! B+ ?5 B; ~(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of3 J, C2 Y+ a% x& i
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
& z$ g- |" U& \$ l4 iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
+ a, ~" N- [ r( B: {" I, F& \( J[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
/ d# ?# C! c3 B7 C" B6 A8 J" z(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
9 r4 S. @ J2 _1 J6 yretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: }1 G5 A9 J: X4 R$ ^9 H7 b3 _9 Fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
3 b" O" A( P5 s$ \7 l* [' K(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* X0 p% L3 ~! s
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
, b3 v; o* v3 f( k! Gsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.) I* s J, T ~6 S
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
& \. {4 d4 Z8 j9 q3 J) i5 [7 \ }compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,8 \) P1 `3 }% E. @( a7 d3 v1 H
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
0 r/ B" I4 I5 B# z' ^5 q7 P
- p! X2 D/ G* a6 s' g7 ](source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)# S, b. d* o: B
and American speakers of English, |
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