 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
2 c8 y3 j1 h( N: f9 }0 cInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
! I2 m& K9 R- z+ isyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
% @. J" x# ~$ B' dand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial- [4 b4 v9 ^; w5 @8 Q" n0 g
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of4 G! ?6 [1 `) H1 P; U
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
6 @$ K" M6 [+ F: ^) k8 uA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=. k" M/ [7 u. K6 |6 V# M0 D
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 l4 J4 _& k! L" t, x1 g(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving5 ~+ A) R* H" ~# K9 B9 I
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
- w% T* ^7 f5 ^& f- }- A+ o+ Fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
; B2 }5 X/ k. s v(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
! l& p* W. a4 n0 b: ?" i' {: `2 bsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a" ?9 k- { w2 ~9 @- G- \( u
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( I- u4 N2 ?; S$ X
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In" L7 \" H+ M* ?, a: r
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element," x) G% X @ {& u
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
) Z' f3 J1 C1 x% G7 o
' m9 s5 u7 `0 U% A5 j) I3 {4 L(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
. P' g7 t3 Z) R2 T0 y% Eand American speakers of English, |
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