 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
; V1 e; k4 |% w) \, xInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
: J2 N# |% m4 u5 d y) J& m8 t/ Fsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
b/ g1 i/ I* m" i5 Fand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial8 u7 H( H3 Y5 x; I: x+ u
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
. f- ~( b% }2 q Rretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).+ }7 g* W( J. D2 M
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
/ k H+ t a, N; F[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
& s: t& H# `3 a; b- C V(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
/ }1 j' Z: b& {6 @7 [& p. aretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on/ O9 }2 Y$ W& u1 B3 f) u! e5 U- b
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 y) p: P& D/ A" {! @
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
+ R0 C' W* ~8 X; ]& L8 D6 q8 {9 rsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a6 Z; i8 S' n l( c. i5 S1 N
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
" M( N; K( l& wend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In) Z( q! N. s4 l! e6 H
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
' W, q/ n" [& ^6 Z4 R* ^+ Ethe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
( s$ Y& P4 J* {1 z5 W) `- ~5 |9 b. I) ]3 e% d; {8 q- Y
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; n1 _ @0 ~# q- {8 kand American speakers of English, |
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