 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The3 l! W) R4 p# L8 S. i4 R9 ?4 n( i* h
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
0 N5 ]! C# `4 \# V* `0 i _syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,' B0 ]" U& l! T+ H( m
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
, c+ V8 \8 F; \4 {1 l# u(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of# x1 P( Q4 R: _, ]0 `8 f
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
( n- T# {. w& j" eA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
R/ i5 [( ~5 J. D# F- i5 a/ _$ p5 s[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]+ ^. d$ F' p# O0 x- o: w( U
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
( K% ?& ^4 f) a; j. rretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on! A3 Z' ^; z4 O, D; A0 L6 [! Q; I
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset" L! I: i8 c' D' d6 K8 l) c
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
2 D4 ]7 B2 {# V Y4 lsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a5 l7 W+ W; [) B
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
% m, z- F: G* X# zend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In: {4 s: A/ _$ \
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
0 W# V7 f' W% j# y3 ~the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..; w3 G: k8 q* _9 S- E" `% O
- _1 z5 B6 h) M' X; z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
- m5 u& F& l2 M4 Q/ D+ D; h) rand American speakers of English, |
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