 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
$ p5 D X7 w# O; y, Z; Q; F9 S! Y8 bInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the+ Y' v i( T) [$ ]# N
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
/ \; F+ ?. p1 uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial$ R& ]3 U# E; g; n* P
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of$ F/ o8 m5 q- S1 ?6 C
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
0 X4 C1 M" t) ]9 b" g, N0 c) ~& W7 wA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
% X. K& m, c/ o: {8 n( o0 z* R[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]" m3 a+ R9 \) Q: E4 n6 `2 X5 E
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
# ^/ Q* R& c" d8 jretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 d# |. [& j2 e7 ~7 P& O
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
0 l4 H' a A' _(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two- a- F4 h/ I# `( v
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
5 t2 ~( P/ ]. y+ Q+ N6 y6 A" usemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.% O# g3 ^1 c) T) X
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In! y! e/ R3 h0 m
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,1 v5 n' g1 A$ a4 a% m1 R1 L( g
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& X9 u. Y( x b L' U# i2 o
, |7 ~4 b% z9 ]* Q. b% ~(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)+ C; w2 v# e s
and American speakers of English, |
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