 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The9 M* J8 T6 M" J) b: ]8 t
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the6 e; Z' c5 A5 w8 J6 m
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ k# Y6 b; R' _( |" O0 _2 |1 A
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 |% q. A, Q* I
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
/ x( @" N" q X; u D, |retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
. p6 W+ }1 _# v$ j! k5 D: |A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=( k& L7 ^# u: K5 a2 Y+ K! Q2 d
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 n" z# {/ p/ \5 }. u$ B6 |
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
8 d: S3 J- e5 j0 U/ m7 P) L4 Sretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
2 p# a8 J( Y9 P; D) x3 epossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset! {% K- f! g; u2 ]% A" Q$ B
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
9 y3 q2 F" ^! q! a* k! {4 s( m* ~: m2 rsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
' s& y- J, s4 R( \: J% v5 {semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
. N( `2 z( j: L+ p. Uend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
6 \1 S+ a- D* z2 v0 h3 @5 icompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
( C ?: b X7 A, g9 _the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
6 s) c/ e! u8 B" g" ?4 K1 ^6 d/ A( [1 f" h
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
, x5 u" [$ \( [# N* Q8 xand American speakers of English, |
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