 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The' y6 X- m% t3 v$ T7 g0 m- g7 e% `
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the9 O8 M( q4 }) P
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,5 K$ n/ i4 F& W6 m& l8 Y
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
% D) a4 g6 J2 R8 Y Z(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of7 V0 h& k' s q4 ]; s4 ]5 ^
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
3 ], D7 O9 R% H; JA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% r4 {" P) |9 Q
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]" v: `2 \1 P0 ^! o: H+ u# g- ?
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
$ c3 B0 g: f- r! `6 x$ |( mretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 `& w9 R* F7 X* _# L5 R5 ~# k( [. l
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset$ X3 u% ~8 Q" x. T+ h+ _
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
$ K2 j5 K0 } d# s* ksegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
3 G- Z8 M9 j* q# \' csemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
. z. Z, k% q* Rend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
. Z" D/ I+ K, g0 J% ?) H u" Gcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,: U) v8 I! J: t- O! S5 e4 ?
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..6 e0 d8 v9 ?# _- W5 [
% J" r, X) H( J- F. k" F5 Y
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)' a2 `3 N; T1 [/ J9 S3 ^( r* I# t1 a' o
and American speakers of English, |
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