 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The5 g( D w4 I) o3 R B s% \) h
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the- ~$ K4 F' k* T) r# ?
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,' d& g. d. j5 V8 R9 D0 w
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 h* y1 _& E2 ?9 ?) w1 h+ e
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of- u% J) Z, H2 S2 Q% ]9 w
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; Q" w! v% L- zA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
0 q- |- X; R" E6 d- T4 c[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] i# J `: w, u9 F
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
/ y7 v/ Q p3 G7 K% U$ C5 Yretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 }; g' a$ m1 L+ Tpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset& d) ^ j/ x3 I% j4 B$ [* N
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two8 P M& a5 O2 n9 V, Q- y
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
3 e1 k0 z8 G( P% `semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
/ D+ t$ Y" I6 C1 d/ G& d' G" Bend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
3 w0 a+ v4 g/ w0 ?compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
8 E9 A! K Q4 D( h0 w" T! s' athe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
( K2 f' ^- u& ~7 t! M5 n1 r3 C/ O; K% ]) o) P
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
- `! H/ A# O7 f0 @5 q3 G6 N3 M( sand American speakers of English, |
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