 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 e, ^1 x$ m# \+ v0 Q2 x, o- XInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
; ]1 k, i) \9 s% Y0 x! o8 f- h2 Nsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: ?9 ?2 B% x; |: H
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
+ l! ]3 ~ H8 Q1 ]/ k) W(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 Z, o' W# |' E
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
2 i: B7 l3 h9 s- k% x- C; d0 VA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=* g2 S% [; [, g7 c$ E6 o
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
" x0 `# O! D3 O# g: u( L(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving* l6 W" w4 C$ Z j
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
6 @. B/ U2 a7 \' e7 J6 H6 bpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset. |# a7 g+ ~/ p4 k4 r2 d
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
; O0 K/ w0 ], @( c osegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
- S; b$ f6 k+ {7 `semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( j3 {: O$ S L% ], w& Q' }
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In# |; p) L# f6 W% v
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
3 h7 J/ ^- F# ]8 }2 ~the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& [/ T5 g( P! Q8 x) ~1 G" ^
4 t# k) O/ j" [( Y% g3 X(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)0 {5 M# w( j: x! v( A0 x- [1 n
and American speakers of English, |
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