 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The5 h8 ~. Z$ U* j; |
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
. ]8 `5 G! Y ?5 i/ w/ K, Asyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,2 B- }3 E: r& l5 Q
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
2 ]) r+ e0 T# \0 N0 [(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of3 e6 ?* `- Z- o0 B) D" L' }% j
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).- @ l8 |4 k1 `
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
6 i5 ^' s0 ? @4 E. d. c% j6 e[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
3 E: ^: o3 n8 u# f" I+ u(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 Z; F$ i4 z4 G7 I- ^
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 \$ p& D% k: W* ^
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset+ z6 P. n( [0 u
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: _9 Y1 ^2 F# c/ H
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a; q% c3 Q& c1 n/ x$ X( K4 A& w1 r
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
" M6 [8 M, ^4 [" E- p/ _ |end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ G3 \3 D9 p" jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,0 k* \; f: x5 |0 N3 _
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
2 r0 R8 s! B* t- ^
% I& ^/ Q# T m(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch): s& o8 K6 `8 A& k5 S
and American speakers of English, |
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