 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
% h% k2 [! O, c6 X6 zInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
/ q4 Q+ X: g# `; Nsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,0 [" w6 J0 C( ?8 b
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
: z! j; g& A) A2 C0 a6 z$ D9 P(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of2 T$ c0 [% u1 X) }% o
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).% O5 H- J! ^7 c( p( U; I- d4 g
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=. J( q0 ?+ ?# ?1 I! |8 n
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]3 ?' n0 O. H: r% m9 Z1 K
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& Y- K+ D2 s% K: Nretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on) \6 u9 v! t0 _: E9 Q! t- K5 C
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset7 ^+ O x6 T/ `5 t; {6 q
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
+ j3 z3 i& K0 d9 ]segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
+ l% w# ?9 y- ?; B3 V( c) Fsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) p4 q1 ]0 e5 S( lend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
+ H9 x2 ~, c9 K& fcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
0 D5 @) M: U2 |2 c' }! Pthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..& K: {% S6 w0 o8 m6 k/ p
# D: r8 p4 d/ m8 [( }+ l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 m/ T0 }+ O3 t. Tand American speakers of English, |
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