 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The' M# C* \# t& j9 E
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 _5 {/ k/ y% q0 l. M( N/ ~
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
7 v7 N% ]. M( h2 _: j5 ^5 Vand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial/ p5 C# Z+ a. P& ]* t8 F
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
1 U i+ U2 Y/ K0 tretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
' Z4 k3 S5 c E6 {# YA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=) o( t) _6 }+ y& u6 U- v; z/ r2 C
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]) W. p1 s9 R: F0 [1 D
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
: B$ u% v1 I- O1 C3 u5 c) Oretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: w0 X2 l% [! l" O0 p) e4 C$ Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
, a, g9 h9 `; l0 r% z6 F(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
$ @" a% p( l" S4 W6 Ysegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
7 I" e9 R5 O9 A- ?5 g& Ssemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
# M H+ u/ N: x, bend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In, Y7 O7 q# X: A& `, @; C# \" s
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
2 U7 G; f; T7 A _the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..# \8 j2 k$ L* f) K0 m5 a
9 D! R* ]; }: G, g; W7 w5 n# X& m9 v# m
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
. ~7 ]# T; k$ \4 x1 e Q' x* S2 ]and American speakers of English, |
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