 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
0 p1 }, S" m0 y! M8 k! tInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 ~$ k8 v4 A3 q6 n) Qsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
8 Y2 c* {5 N: [& W" Y1 b* d" O+ Tand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial+ U( z0 ~* V5 R3 ?) Y
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& z" s6 B: ]7 m, E, v7 ]retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
/ v6 q1 M4 K$ F; \, l- r' {# ZA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=! \( B" ^) x8 ?% i: s) h
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 k3 s# l: u" L' P+ q0 m
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving2 {. C& \; \7 n& V" `
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
$ k/ g3 b3 c9 `) z0 Upossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset3 x0 o) T: y5 m* c( ]1 I/ y, d
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
# \0 X$ b6 X5 Ksegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a* W2 y0 ]: ]! w6 o7 L
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.5 w; b& Y: ]5 c! R& Y- _
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
5 G: k, c, e# l9 Jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
0 c1 h1 e+ [ `+ ]6 U1 qthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..0 Z1 {+ G0 E6 G2 a0 S; k2 W9 H
+ K, f' z4 H+ }9 y" ^9 E& D
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
! U) o6 {( ^0 F8 O4 gand American speakers of English, |
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