 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# |& X: k% g. Z# H+ ]$ A
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the5 w5 U/ z" b1 O# f- F) v, ]
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
! C! ]4 B0 ~5 Q$ M# q' S& `8 `5 Gand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial: c# [( B, k( s" R7 ?% o5 L
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
@: _9 r3 L8 E& _; yretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)./ c, \( C, x# E" x
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=8 O9 s/ u; n1 `% P! D- G3 {2 d
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]( q* d# G# E% K: l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
y1 D! p6 T$ p, @8 @+ W2 [/ Z* }retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
9 r8 J/ H3 b. L5 w) Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset) f A! n/ }9 x/ U2 h
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
# @: z. f; Z, H% g* o3 ssegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
( `5 g4 ^7 w2 |semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.% h+ q* W6 W, T8 h
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
# T6 F+ s6 M. \9 Z5 N9 Qcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
: N g* D6 f4 R3 Sthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
" a* |$ D# G9 d2 q7 Q s3 M
- N7 {4 b; B& B(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)! n8 l; E) S0 r. m+ O" Z
and American speakers of English, |
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