 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
1 Z0 u5 D+ s4 K# A% J6 YInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
# I9 n) h F4 Z9 isyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,# p" H" ^% @5 @ m. R& o
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 i% b, M4 |, A' y* R4 S" `
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of: H8 B& P4 S8 [, n# V7 D6 \# S- J
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).; u6 S6 ]% A2 l0 k, r$ X' t; X
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=5 o" K) r$ B: ]/ w g
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]2 I) j# W' t. b- f
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
* o* ~0 i) F4 e& M: f' @8 ]retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% `9 n ?* [) X N& \, _1 O+ Upossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
: r# a. C c( ?; `9 T% ](Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
4 D; @$ f( j, }! rsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
4 Y7 F" Q0 C) ^0 Csemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.2 c, }3 S. l* y N1 O; Y) f
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
" J0 _% \' O8 v% R9 t6 {0 W, `& `compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,2 \( b% B# S1 P h3 K
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 U0 x: H- P9 b# C4 l
, V6 B2 H& e. u# ^9 S. g' g(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)' h7 X2 J! U# V. g( a& d9 X+ m' R
and American speakers of English, |
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