 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
5 O1 V5 T# D+ }$ _8 h( X/ F! l) qInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the" `: c) }( z3 X$ ?7 F
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,' r0 ]8 e$ E: Y
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
* b' v- {: [2 j. P(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# [, ?8 Q `8 e( I" i- J* t) o9 ^+ {retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).+ Y/ Y3 m* Q# u, d
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=9 n! K; C1 s; I& G/ K6 q1 N! Q$ `
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]' }, p# |8 o/ B. p
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving( [' J8 o6 F/ L4 h0 f8 t
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on# P: Q$ u. J( c) o3 N
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# s7 L% w* }9 I3 t, _9 Q8 V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two1 O7 P" e9 c# S6 {/ Y. T& H" N
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
8 d- i; G8 `# R* e2 T: @semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.& D; l- X( w' V
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( b- {# X% D+ X$ r' N0 ~$ [
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,5 }$ x; d% t1 J; Y
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
! y! B1 d y# C; p+ o* Q" u# ?1 Y+ U8 i
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)0 }9 i3 z$ q- `) H7 }5 _6 A" Y0 n
and American speakers of English, |
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