 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
+ _8 |$ y1 y* f) D9 z+ @* o/ h% AInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 N8 ^1 J6 L$ L- F: t4 esyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,5 L! u0 A" s3 p* S3 j4 e
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial& ~! I' f6 Z/ g0 j
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 l* V9 f! c" _8 r& `retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
) s R n- s6 _) YA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=9 Z+ ^ N* n3 p+ B/ ^) U
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 G" d+ o: V) L$ w(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 w: C6 L3 S4 Z* B! h! M/ V9 Q- q
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on9 C5 {/ m9 H( f" M( Q
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset8 \4 _* G8 r, A( b
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two6 W; R$ ]4 B5 i+ f n
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
7 H) J3 A2 p4 p( F, lsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. s9 ^" c4 V9 `6 J
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In9 z( ^, {% ?/ O& H) Q
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,! n% F$ d1 z5 t9 f
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 J* r* l$ Q8 u- n% G" i
1 s0 ?. @# p4 i% D# q" ?# i& N(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)3 p4 A3 ^: S$ C" j
and American speakers of English, |
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