 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
' C7 L0 G- J, A, uInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the: S* D& Q# j# o( p
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: j9 a) f) M( v2 a; y& ]
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
2 L# x' {9 V, f' {5 f) P( \+ Y(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
5 S+ h* E6 }! X7 V, tretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
, [ W- ?( [1 Q' EA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=- a, X. N0 {( E9 x
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 F( K6 T. Y, A. n2 @2 V' t# k; Z(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving6 Q3 i8 v$ V9 i: Y" D
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
) J. F$ D0 R% R% hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
P5 Z3 R, E: }8 p4 B( w5 c(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( Q+ T' \% z0 B& i4 U* q0 `+ ~
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a' E+ u/ _6 |" X+ ]4 f" O
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
- `- G. V3 I+ u* f2 ^- fend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In" k0 K# |0 v! ?" B d6 |! q
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
Y% b( R" [5 \; ^- j8 c; L. N4 ithe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..' i: u- Q3 A0 @- E
, F9 i/ X9 f# \! h- X5 n* W
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)/ ?* b8 ~! F1 w) O
and American speakers of English, |
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