 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
, h5 i [9 D, ]# H/ l% FInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
2 f9 u: t X! h% Ksyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
( W- z) M. H# A" G& i `2 Sand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
1 K1 }' ]. H- x: m(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& b* `' i# Z; G0 v$ T3 B* _retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)., ^# M% ~5 C) ~6 q: x
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
+ }8 P& @5 @2 O# h1 a5 {[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
/ Y2 A+ q. n5 M: {, [2 R(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving, p" M. u1 G0 g/ x# P/ O6 U
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on+ x! T4 k0 c2 |9 {3 A3 N
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
" P- E- M5 [; P4 N9 a(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* c; ?/ r# t0 l* {: ^1 I, i* F. Q
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
9 ~$ X6 V) X0 ]( @' x/ k- U1 a- Ssemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.5 t ^- C9 }/ @9 t! A% `
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
" S* t# ~! o2 S1 C* {% ncompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
/ w1 L; n! i# i; Xthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
: l; `) ~% p3 k5 L0 {, |/ v) C" g" F1 k$ f e8 I1 I
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch) j; u1 b0 W4 C, u% w
and American speakers of English, |
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