 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The5 p+ P! ^0 o3 t: x
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the$ I' c7 s& I+ b+ G( \ }
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' L4 L- @7 Y! Z$ r }; m/ gand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
( [) |1 [( D' ~7 ?& g7 W- Q) r(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of# a V& g. N1 j' S6 R1 H
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).# v; o+ w; k$ W: u. s# @2 a4 h
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
4 M4 U3 o+ E `/ i[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]3 {) w" H2 ~6 X. P1 Q0 R; L/ X
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
; R7 F( x0 b3 mretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
. v7 j+ y( ]% W3 npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset/ t# e. b8 w; f4 h$ S" i/ k$ M
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
s4 D9 _- ?1 usegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a4 @ V! D+ k3 B! z7 G) E. C ?
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.7 q% B3 n, q2 h, ~: ]6 B
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
0 R* K: y; D9 B" r( b/ Xcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
* ?9 b0 c) a7 I6 G5 ^: [7 I+ J* b Vthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
9 E) M0 ~! V% M' G1 ^& H1 R1 V' M2 l E3 {* r) G) U# H+ D
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)' k! m9 H, Y" w* h) p
and American speakers of English, |
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