 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
2 n9 [1 a# `5 D& fInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the4 n0 Q f, d" K# I+ F
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
" ?0 t% o7 O1 e) t+ B$ u% eand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
+ z8 q) Z0 ~$ e, z$ @(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
8 a* p0 c/ U# L6 c9 X4 Y. pretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
, }9 f5 j5 j! Z" h& C2 bA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
% q7 Y: j9 Q0 K- y$ B$ g" L3 a: x. H[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
& [+ A( v6 \- R3 _, Y(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. A/ p* @/ ?' G# J, R( E2 Yretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on( o* v3 W, F( l- r/ j; I4 S- [
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
% r$ s" s+ x, `5 [: A- ](Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. @: W" `% d+ m2 m
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
3 ?9 [& J4 \7 M& }$ g/ [$ \+ Fsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) ~! Z0 j9 g$ ?& P( y V: Uend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
4 `! z6 W* t2 Q) k- o+ ?! icompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,0 ?; ~; N* b4 ]- C9 c3 x# V. }+ S
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..3 x& \/ Z6 a( k8 x
# G0 ^4 f% q _: ~1 l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
" }9 f z/ u2 O1 o, L/ uand American speakers of English, |
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