 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
$ d4 B2 u, I' w4 p' _) zInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
! X9 F9 {) l" y1 wsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
* b- L: Q& p+ ?* L9 I J+ ?. band uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial7 f- v1 j: N- o( N' K
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of% O z; X* \' n' Y: D7 _
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)." n$ x V( D4 H
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
3 i* |* G. m, V+ d3 D2 I[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]& x( Q! _- x5 r& ]
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
' n" j8 }+ L- ~6 h2 \# I- C% m6 ?retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on, O* i9 {0 c) r4 v* x, J8 A( [
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset- D# t# o- P% H* j2 ~$ H1 F+ e: R8 b
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two+ [; F8 I% b) ~
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
6 |9 \5 _, X. @4 ?( ?) j: X9 j; Bsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
1 R$ S* S5 L% L" C8 Mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
1 Z; j- g d R5 v2 r! ccompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,( ~. {5 b9 F8 u0 z3 L9 \
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..4 y2 z% R5 ^7 X" c- |! t5 Q; u
6 l3 O i- Y# W! m; d(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; L/ @; Y/ E$ `( t! Xand American speakers of English, |
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