 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
9 @, V" \% [5 [2 r0 Y: bInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
# N. q; N* n3 i& Q2 L2 Y! _syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 K* A3 @" t# J- x! ]
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
1 O& `( p+ O5 J* v(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of7 i! Q& \& n2 r. Z
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
2 U! g; H& ?1 P; iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
7 p1 d2 k, Y9 \. |$ b% B[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] G. }& {, W, k
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving- U+ E7 H1 y- j7 @4 X
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
. S, w* d- \2 m/ Hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& [3 T& y/ B9 @- q(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two$ V- P$ T9 P" M
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a) l! m2 [+ C" R& X" N
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.) s3 i9 O `, W
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
! J3 O" W+ L7 }$ tcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
% `- W( y; ~# v/ X: G, ^1 X! [the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..7 {" Z; p$ g1 ]" n g" n
. v% I0 ~6 n/ ~$ N% `% ^
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)9 z5 F o8 r9 D1 a' @
and American speakers of English, |
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