 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& W% `/ d, \3 {; ]" ` Q
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 O- S1 V6 s0 E+ ~+ y+ c$ bsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 [: j$ K" t, `0 h0 ~# C/ X
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
! p/ @ y) Q- a(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% Z; \& x5 N4 W0 O$ Z2 zretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).' h# h: ^5 ^/ d
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
7 q. ^& F8 ~9 e7 a8 k5 I+ Q[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 j6 K! E3 X% k: p2 O7 P9 C
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
) S8 w& n; V+ a! c1 g9 S9 H! ]9 W* f, Pretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
( [ i7 q: i; Apossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset c" Z. |( \, ]$ ~# `+ L
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
. l$ { D9 S% ~* E& Zsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a7 h$ W# }( ?. P, o" z7 J
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
# |8 I) j; X, n$ c! lend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
% x R4 j8 I' p3 vcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
# T1 |5 \% o1 i4 Qthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& j$ j. v- ]% |( E, c# g- W8 M. ?; N* i( ]; K, P0 Q! Q M2 W
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)5 O" h6 f/ V7 v% j: T
and American speakers of English, |
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