 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 J- c. V: \: `; |# GInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
1 L' S, }# q* w9 V6 Z3 `syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ c* D1 ~5 r8 n
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial) R" n, C( X+ `& p2 x" A
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
! S( r( G! ?) nretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).9 b! O4 S! d+ G6 u! w
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=( e2 t; o% l. l3 H0 X8 q, M5 y7 E" b
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]# @6 p4 D0 ?1 i
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 Q' u. l* m* q7 J- ^
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on' w; X# A' W* Z6 l
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset0 a" U/ L0 n- j. T/ H8 Z" b: B; |* t
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two+ W8 d. Z. {9 a$ E/ \
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
9 M# @) A, k% O7 Ysemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.* s0 ~0 W: O/ u& R% a" u4 A! b
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 `4 u' z% `! J ?1 Hcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; o# ^$ h, g( pthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
9 x( [) E+ d8 W, x" c3 D6 I( X& D" _; x3 D! d
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch); c" {' k( H- f$ y I) Q; C
and American speakers of English, |
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