 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
8 R ?# H9 i6 F/ C6 M. [Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the0 s' w5 d) m4 X4 |: U# g3 P
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- U _; Z- V: b' R2 ?: f* H; W: C
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial8 S. E# N0 H( x, u8 e+ g" Y
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
1 S. @6 i4 g$ a3 _, g5 Gretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).5 {0 t, N) A7 Y2 T1 i
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=7 w, L% y' }% `- | {. L S
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] s; E) S; `) n4 K" g2 d1 g- a
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
$ } D0 g* W' b* C, bretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on* D6 Z/ \1 r0 s2 ~" Q
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
) c% `9 b M2 D( S(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* ?% U) ?) a! h/ p1 x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& J ^$ s& Y& z q3 @
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.2 ?5 B) S# ?, Z8 Z! |
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
) K* Z" c3 M6 o5 d' kcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
* t! K" y' b* w9 G/ B+ c1 _/ H' Wthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
/ u$ T. `* d+ |( u! P3 [# D( g3 M% u, B7 i& ^; l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)) b% W; ^0 o q, v- s/ s% m- G, l: F
and American speakers of English, |
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