 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
- ]1 N9 n: s$ J" o, aInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the, `$ e8 @) g* Z1 r( e' z8 X
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ D. B$ S$ \3 j0 ]+ ~and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
9 M: v- O* R- k$ e5 s; F: u) i4 X: x(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of! j% O( N5 O: I+ f+ P j
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
& C; O; m4 f, {/ u" ?- ~' a& pA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
6 ~1 ]+ z: g# `' n1 L[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 S5 D! y6 a+ V& d
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
w: ?% h Q) Y; T! H& h" D5 X9 xretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on* B6 x2 [6 K: j7 z; U
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset* _, @3 m: P9 H9 m7 ]1 p
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two" t- O) s2 X7 C
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a7 M \3 g5 D" z' Y A& ]" l
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.9 _5 p) T1 i$ \6 m; Y) U1 B" l
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( P! U8 |& V: f" J3 K% K5 s1 W
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element, W7 {* p+ z& `; G& h: S
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
/ B, f2 N) T% h' o) [: [; i
6 q) p* Y& @1 {! C g! y9 W. ](source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)# o0 }; ^3 t0 z7 L
and American speakers of English, |
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