 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The1 Q! e$ v# Q% T& `% W I
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
) D5 |+ h8 y8 o, _syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
1 x9 A7 [# z4 }and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial `1 N% [/ O4 B6 W" x7 M' F3 P& S K
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
_0 c" O/ F" Nretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).3 i7 k+ k+ L$ m, V ~" R$ f
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=: R7 ^9 b) ~, w% b# J
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]8 Y0 }4 p* k" z0 V* T! ~, Q
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
2 D! S! ~! T" U! y1 {% ~3 s* B) cretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
& ? A9 r6 U }! P: L6 hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& c& V! n0 q* I+ q; h7 C4 M(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two" _$ p. Q' W4 }
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
8 U: D x. ~" E. }7 }7 jsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
; }* N5 D. a) W; d$ b, x* @8 {end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 ~/ T9 f0 r2 A' j: t4 R* H G! f5 I" xcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,3 E& i$ z/ u/ s2 a9 {1 J; o
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ z- Z0 u' B' {3 X7 \
6 E7 j6 n4 N. m) X3 m$ N' h3 b(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)9 {( x* K, w% a5 A6 v' `4 f. H8 G
and American speakers of English, |
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