 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
% G g# `0 o' e7 Z3 FInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
, P0 h) `/ Q: m& L! [# ~8 Asyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,/ h! ]4 K B7 a, m
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 b) A+ [; _& Z; H; d2 V+ ?8 S
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of; V" J( _' t1 r; }
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
' w( }% M. {- j- t* b, dA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ X: y. t+ \- t8 z5 x8 I: J* B4 t8 c/ N
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
7 T8 ^* y# R2 r' |1 d: p- O. }5 c(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
5 ~; o; r( X- H7 B: Nretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 T! v* d. B" L9 V( J; Mpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' e2 v$ T R1 S(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two0 r" Y) o% m+ s. V
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& m, A! q7 }5 r" Q5 ]& y% |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.6 K" I& ]7 Y k8 h( I
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
! j; |! U, q' j6 Q* C2 acompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
0 A0 ?! F1 y: y6 ?/ _7 Ythe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla... A3 \3 t! O! U/ s8 F1 d
! I3 j- q* |4 C1 [+ L- Z(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)/ G4 q) S/ F3 {% ~
and American speakers of English, |
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