 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The7 G9 {- m0 V/ L; G
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the+ b0 J# n! ^% O; w7 x
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 Z3 F. P" O! d- X2 G- \& Q! p+ ]
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
( k9 k1 A9 u [( `. P4 [(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of R4 j, |# }2 I2 s. ~
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
0 e' ^8 D! [, ]* M' hA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
' i& y& I+ |7 I. M# f0 T$ E0 e[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]+ T$ Y, z' h* x1 ~; U7 Z7 X- e! Q
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& b. z% h E$ T4 p2 e$ uretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
; j" r G/ z& y+ v4 R# U0 Tpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
( i# j( t, T1 `8 p(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two3 U$ Y' I8 ]# T! I* t( ?
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a/ E2 q% H, S0 g2 `- b. r
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.- h- {5 {" C) m, o* S! s2 ~ ~! s
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
, \3 g1 x( u* u9 e6 b1 t! Xcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,. o/ u& o. T4 k! A& {2 N
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..% b# z! ^0 W' V8 c1 l
R: r( D. _; G& O( \
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
- v' i: s5 |8 fand American speakers of English, |
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