 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The3 G9 ?( ]1 p# c! E. S- w+ ~
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
) Q& n9 w# ]- M9 z: j! G3 l. Bsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,8 K: j# K8 d/ l% \+ d' K. `
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial3 g7 z# c6 K$ `/ G: o) Z: ~" C
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of$ b) ?$ d' C2 y; s' R( w, S
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).. N5 P& b4 e9 x
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
' ~/ z6 D' T' c7 I' ~3 b[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
+ t5 F. S, A% Q6 f; Z) m. M(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& q4 E/ F, q( j) g9 d- z0 k5 uretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on4 \" E! g3 Z. y& N/ b J: b$ P; G
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
7 C2 J( F% V+ p9 T, s(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
5 I, l, U! a7 }: `segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a4 O2 }* L" o$ Y/ k
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
' {) p8 g2 d3 m1 Bend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
: Y D3 R& t0 H9 kcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,8 R8 R: E4 H- V' @; n$ W& Z
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
' @1 _: f& m4 ^1 a; I8 a8 z5 X2 H- w$ j% C
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)5 p7 y4 E. u! y
and American speakers of English, |
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