 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# m4 y0 e) r$ G/ e2 @
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the' X: r( ?1 J& ]3 T# ?+ c
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 y, V k: i7 S4 V2 [. }
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial X5 | c# k! U) G' c* r, W
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 a: t5 k+ M2 e d8 oretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).) Z2 W3 n/ h' `' W. H1 e. j0 n" ^
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
. C9 m$ D* L2 u, I[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
" j3 q6 c) X' ]$ X- c(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving4 M4 X5 f- k0 O! ]. I
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
7 {% T# w6 B' V% A$ Qpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
; R) X/ Q; \- n# n/ ]! {(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
4 l9 Q( o4 M+ J7 E8 {0 S& I" isegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a, a$ H+ H& \/ t0 B
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
0 ^* E" m+ ~( S8 _/ ~: n! Y; Fend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In) X% }1 d ]' d. y2 h* w6 H/ N, I
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,! M8 F* h5 l4 Q9 d- u
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..; ], j5 @( H/ U7 |2 R
7 k* M1 a8 |) j3 s" }8 b8 R2 y
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)8 H& h$ Y, j3 g# k \: b
and American speakers of English, |
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