 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The$ e% m) C& K @ k( Z
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the5 G5 M6 ?) o0 y* G& S$ A
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
5 u. O. ~* C$ z: Cand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial6 U- `* ]$ }) s4 r
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of9 w; }% T, _! H0 [
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).0 ~) @! L7 W" ~7 _9 h: |
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
* r+ I3 G9 F, @ B- z[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]% B7 {/ w1 y" t( H% @ U8 N1 ^
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
0 X% @/ ?7 T! h% Z$ xretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
; e; E2 z. X/ j3 D1 m9 Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
) A% `* F1 A7 n; ~7 K(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two7 O* f( W' a2 |+ i3 K5 n0 x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& j! R; j* t2 w8 x
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.$ i0 M; g. g3 ~* q0 d
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In4 M k8 C6 o: a
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, w- W& c2 Y) _! K* e
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..) ?. b' j1 u2 R+ o
: m7 V9 X m+ s' B5 _+ B7 |(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), A; t- z& \) O: I0 H7 ]0 O! x3 C
and American speakers of English, |
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