 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
i! Z# S. q+ L+ S$ OInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
- O% N% G, _0 l, e7 nsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,+ L& E2 Z. {% E5 A
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; m5 ?6 H! ~, Y# @( `' n
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
, a4 C+ ?6 H, a' rretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
7 ^# m5 p$ y" `% t: N; @8 E% d: ?! ?A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
0 Z7 A/ n& \9 \$ I% {- t4 n[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
7 v$ m( J& A" Z/ `(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
! T j% }# R' i# f8 R( \3 l4 W8 b/ {retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
( ?1 H0 e& t( w# o( h3 Y! Ppossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
b& M. ^9 y1 |6 _( h" C$ t(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two1 r3 G" r8 F4 B. S* F0 m
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
" y: g: S# S: P4 y, E- [semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
0 n- Z# a( P& c1 y* Hend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
# @9 o) U# q/ W/ Z; Pcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,) [9 B7 F8 _/ M' C6 R% d5 P7 v e
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.." j0 g, [- f# r3 |
# ^: r! W1 X4 P& U+ C7 o8 d: V' D. G(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& b5 N! M& }: zand American speakers of English, |
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