 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
1 S8 ~7 W( m# T" h8 r4 g: LInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
4 P! _+ j% n" D) Rsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ v0 M: B5 u" c! ]1 S: J$ Wand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
$ [: [2 H5 c" A7 l8 e(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
; y |3 F/ k6 z: O; K4 Aretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; x: p, Y, L6 J. ^: _" |6 ~6 fA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
0 U' u( o- A& f" e3 l. s3 l! H' g[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 [% T3 r% R/ M0 k, `1 _8 C
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. p8 s* Y$ u: q+ f- S2 q i1 Uretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
$ _& N6 V% }% _, r! `3 ?: j+ wpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
: X: G( z4 r1 M( s(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
/ ?2 m1 {. i6 D3 R+ w/ ]2 \segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
4 R: B1 G! N8 @# Q& n* ssemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.6 b% n$ n5 @4 f) a/ ~# i/ J
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In7 m1 Q( X; p; A' K
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
]$ b% L6 u5 A' K# {the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..# ~3 M% A4 O4 s9 C* D( ] N
( z) p! l6 y. k$ d2 F
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)/ r, s6 d) G1 z
and American speakers of English, |
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