 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
) I6 D/ g0 K& i: B3 X! @6 j$ ?( jInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# `3 b6 @8 B w/ @
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' Y3 s" X$ [, S5 P! S* A( Eand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
, ] e4 d, t2 j8 H+ C(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
8 I! e l' [2 \* j8 hretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).* ^8 _1 W/ M6 P! A
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=7 g, C- [8 ]" N! ?* X
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]& d; Y% q, T$ J& c [8 l8 k
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
8 j# L S$ @( Y. _# dretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on* q, A0 R; U* \2 X! Q
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
. s' D V; z: Q2 [1 T(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two' w( @/ E4 n3 I e" x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a% S4 a1 z: M- X5 Z5 ?& R
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.' N% |8 A& J* P" p; ^
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
1 q- T& j3 r Vcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,4 u1 R/ n: Q: H( I& I4 Q. c
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..% I# ^7 c4 M. }5 B8 o4 \
2 x g- ^( v" [) {
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
3 n9 P" {* \ o0 E, Y8 iand American speakers of English, |
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