 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
; h3 Y+ _9 k# `Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the, P0 D7 c( r+ K! \2 w
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
5 G! _; J- m) ?8 O2 t$ K: Xand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial4 _8 o: ^6 P. e9 X* B1 U5 n) A2 z- Y
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of! I3 ]" O+ d9 _& Q7 \' k
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
, [2 m+ L/ m! @. o! v& tA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% B/ r) K9 t8 f
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
_2 ]' N1 b) t0 K- e6 A(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
/ y9 P! p' M& ^6 B/ I9 W4 Wretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: N" O9 G" f, Ppossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 {* k: s, o& [0 j0 R: Z" j
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two7 j) }0 {0 d" B) J% o* t. o0 G9 k U
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 Z/ i5 R7 x! c# m: Y. |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 R7 G7 H% C- j' u) Send with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In1 l6 ~( R' L2 e3 W
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, t) \( \5 @( |# d$ M! u$ o5 O' @
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..$ h+ B7 t3 |8 w2 X) G* A: D: c
& {- G S1 O* S/ w7 ~* C3 r" U7 m
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
+ o# C \4 a) l' |) c' ^5 ~4 m+ y6 mand American speakers of English, |
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