 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
( Y9 |! {8 |6 Y( J1 V) `Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) M" O9 p* ~5 W3 g7 {4 p k
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
% v8 m; f- Z* U7 x1 n5 n7 band uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
- U2 w0 d. t N5 ~8 Z2 z(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
5 J! ?* L. W3 }+ D, B1 j) f( V+ Nretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).5 g3 \' p+ b4 Q/ @0 ~0 v
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=' A x) d7 E1 E- ?
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
! V" o+ m4 D& J(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 V4 v+ y7 d) L, j1 `retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
) z" I7 b/ s1 t9 p9 Mpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset: ^- Z) A- M7 j! r6 \% T& i. i
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
# B- S/ d& N) G. ?2 F# N6 e/ vsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& Z, s" e6 W/ A
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
. x; y3 X1 y6 z& tend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In; @1 d0 T& m) H/ X4 @
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,+ _ n- Y: `- W' n* y; N
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ g; _/ ]% n: g+ {& J. }, L
3 @' |8 [' t1 j V }
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
1 E' S9 z: ~, F6 D: v0 R. r) Eand American speakers of English, |
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