 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 y* d" k4 `) Y& [4 d$ K
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
; r8 Z; C( T7 J& \0 w) Vsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,2 N. q3 Y% ~: _- j
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
5 s3 ]% O( r5 d, b j(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
! z3 y8 f' o% [5 K% C/ z3 sretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
) { N( U- }7 V' o- {. E& fA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
( e- D* `- k4 d) ?! J: d+ a* J[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”], A% X- ]. `" G
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving e: K" X4 \9 X8 y
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on( h4 v$ ~9 S+ f5 [
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
6 D9 T+ V5 N- c* M3 E6 O(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two$ I2 |3 i$ g1 ]1 J
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
0 D( f4 } Z( D0 p6 csemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
* X, N. y" {8 n! k4 Y( j2 |end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
! L' ` Z6 Q2 N1 rcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
" b* n4 \- |) P6 Y4 p9 |1 dthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..# @6 R& I( ~: ?7 J
1 w) _ k& p A7 d$ G, @, }% N% e(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)6 t: M6 D6 {* ?1 p
and American speakers of English, |
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