 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
7 A# ?, j2 b( `8 r D [* rInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 w; ^" k% v! t* t1 U
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
, L4 x$ V1 x! g- I2 }; wand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial* O9 e3 |, Q2 Y( |& Y# p9 L
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ \! X0 V' D* f; E6 X
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).7 k7 o; R7 S/ c# W* E
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=, [& b1 T! c$ ~& L
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
3 E. b' Q! c* W(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving. Z$ Z- i4 b# T6 @$ o. b6 k
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
2 G( X/ E: G; d3 Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
# x7 U# a& F% y) l* j! H(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two! A3 Z2 _9 J! |0 L7 X
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ w$ r# d1 D8 |4 g" c
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 f4 {3 ]4 j8 R( n: gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In1 P. I& y4 K! u; |5 z
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
2 r7 A6 o7 o: ?" K& k/ h1 Xthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
5 d0 O* i) B$ V2 y2 r2 h, I# O6 v- M# [4 C1 o
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
7 l5 M# J& J% Q2 A% W N1 nand American speakers of English, |
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