 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The6 W% p- l+ f& h% T0 p2 n
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the9 w7 r5 i1 g) D: r" p+ l2 h
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,% l5 X: _* H U% f% O D9 v
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
" e0 w1 I$ l* [2 L5 g$ o(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
3 N2 X6 m- ]9 o) t) z" Mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).$ Y3 z& y! S# a7 W% r8 w
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=# p l1 @* c" l& ]6 N6 U4 p
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 y3 P7 v* T% t# j: j' W(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving( ]* P, A' O1 k3 y J% i0 Y
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on. T6 }- Q' B" B9 @) M" {# t$ V
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
% o- R v# G' ]" T2 S; U0 K) t(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
% _/ B* u9 q' r0 e: U/ E7 c7 ~segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
8 A$ o4 a: J2 |semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.8 L) g' ]' m( t0 z6 _
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
( G g" `2 h/ ]) l) u, Q2 dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element, L$ ^ x- E7 J* \1 L) e
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
- \2 Y; U0 r7 u
5 M5 K( q$ m- \. P; _$ J7 a, G5 E# d(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)* i. l `5 a6 b2 B# W n$ `7 U
and American speakers of English, |
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