 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
& ?! ^) U8 i) d3 i2 V& T5 qInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
" r# O" B1 n; O6 W) I6 {4 z1 Psyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
0 T1 v. p c8 E6 zand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
. ?# t1 E$ a6 z1 D(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of5 p# Y. h4 l: d2 `
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% ? w* @, H% l& y+ A9 DA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
8 ^9 U$ t5 ~* h, t: F& y[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]+ |# s# s! @# `' A+ b0 D
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
. f, }; }% J1 A6 Q1 {retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 r" p% B. l" K* I v9 a
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& T' o; Q8 |$ S! B: w- }( A! Y(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
7 l" b) D: `9 a' | Q7 Nsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ b& ]' ^# r6 M! S
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.9 t# @: C) z) n+ y9 T, F# x
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In. H1 U* w9 w* o9 j) u& @
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,+ j1 ^* h. P& |# y( u4 B
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
- y! e& b( Z( p4 @( Z- z9 {( x& {) n* T: {& \. N7 v
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)! x$ W# E& |, V, K, T& N% [
and American speakers of English, |
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