 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
) {1 c3 j% d+ [( N6 G+ FInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
/ [9 p" J% o9 p- c% Ssyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
& g; H9 w2 A { X6 n2 ]and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial5 [3 A4 ]% `1 n( B A& |6 N
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of7 S- b$ S5 h d. ~! A @
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).! ~0 _5 L( C* [: I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=# v4 O% a0 H* F( @/ c
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]% Q7 J4 f2 Z& A; m* i: c7 g+ D$ S
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving' r& ]( r/ |2 \& R& k% ^
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on" u* H9 p/ K- B; F" C0 v% Y9 k
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' C N8 i4 R d x/ X6 A( o9 `7 k* A(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
7 }. ~& Z* s9 }7 L' o- gsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
( @: s8 Z! f- _. L. d# S5 Nsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
g0 R$ I/ m/ u$ pend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In, B: |- ?. v Y6 l
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
7 l7 F, ]- T+ t1 J& x& F/ H7 gthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
7 k. j0 V+ @: C _4 x( C& ^, b5 X7 }- `' y5 n: F1 D6 P8 w+ w
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
+ ~, l5 |3 n( j$ ^/ A! ?* band American speakers of English, |
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