 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
1 A4 h0 j' u8 ~& q/ a% oInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
3 j! W9 d0 b+ |4 A: {$ Csyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- K( U2 Y5 L- a+ C" Y, w5 m
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
( P7 C# K( N' s* T$ y9 |3 q- y(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ U B1 W. M+ o4 M2 C
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
: W" z# y' W! q ^7 QA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
- H; s! O8 m& r: U* p5 X[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
! Y# X/ g! c, ~2 g' W(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
: L, r% P, Q/ G2 ?, x+ G7 kretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
$ T/ ?3 _% V* r- t8 ]* ?possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
/ }0 @: T9 {# G3 c# E(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two d* f4 \7 N2 d- g- v" l7 p
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
. N4 K e+ |: B% Dsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
- L/ c- x# t$ ]/ u, aend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In% E) C1 a5 G3 }* _. T
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,4 G( ^3 m4 D( w( B: D
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 Z; P. u. @' c5 j# {% q" ]
+ O; Y. Y8 |+ x T7 a- }1 L0 x
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)" M7 M( V4 x# d R
and American speakers of English, |
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