 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
8 r) |0 v3 e$ A$ H9 ?* zInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
' K8 F9 m6 S* ~+ Nsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
% r% v3 u- q9 \7 n1 x band uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
) d0 u; \' |4 B0 r1 z O(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
9 n8 ^8 f6 i, M3 l0 qretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
7 s8 d7 a* |! b& x: Q( \A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=: }0 L5 |( e, {' R
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 J. o" Q9 e! h# n- j3 Q/ g* q(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving. I7 C( L# n) I
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on4 X# p. {) k+ `* U' o. b
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset: H0 S1 ]! t6 n) y( G% W
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
% X& C8 f6 S& R* T' N( W4 z6 f9 r/ g( Fsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a4 x8 }& U- |) C( B4 J L7 W
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.- S, u. y X8 h
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
: H/ N. m* ?: A, M5 Rcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,$ M' I/ b4 m$ x! U! ~# Q
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
$ Q |4 @, S8 O0 `' e) y2 ?" q6 y2 t& l. l2 i! r
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; E- |& K! J/ D0 e$ r: uand American speakers of English, |
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