 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
) k% I$ z( I, ?7 r3 e5 HInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the- |( C i$ ?7 n. n9 i
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ u0 |1 T6 A, B
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
! W U5 }4 Q: H. F" R7 M- o(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ M- Q9 ]# a- g" ~! b% X
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).$ \% h- z+ z0 t; ~" M
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=" R6 Z3 _9 W/ T- S6 L
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
9 p/ B$ F% c1 L9 V(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
l" w2 l/ v$ y4 W, t; A9 Nretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on( ?# l5 P6 p; H( [# A) `+ ?
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 @ Z0 O0 B" I9 `4 B* F' ]" ](Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two/ t4 _; W3 _, x2 P
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ B3 e" ~$ ^+ x
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
! ]3 l6 c* I2 u9 X0 p* @2 h% x' y2 yend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
; {% M" ?! x3 `) Q+ V Wcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,- K. M' w! p6 L. Y6 l6 z
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
$ G* @! t7 }& J6 i
2 x, L \0 [, Z. |: ?7 |(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
" s3 K2 {8 v$ `/ aand American speakers of English, |
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