 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The7 v6 j0 q7 Y5 V6 X1 ]
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
2 o& c" D$ W Y9 o8 {syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
) H6 R+ W% x& ?6 X, q0 k% n8 {. C0 Uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial$ u5 j% `/ x' D# }8 s& ^, V
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 [$ e% q) {7 M: {
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 f( d8 k8 f8 Z$ d% Z
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
' h* J& z0 b; t0 X) u8 X: w[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 R2 n x0 t5 x0 h" I(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
" J! V- W4 G* @: W6 Yretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on, y% }# O. e% Q$ l
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset! @( s- ?8 C0 E5 L( U( z
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two0 E4 K7 ]6 u8 Y
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
! I! ~: [' T+ t- b( nsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) s5 y5 a9 \' D' f; Q+ Z0 ? Gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
4 R0 l2 s1 Q4 ?+ w$ f U5 o dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,$ v, h, k1 T6 N" }; K) [. L: z
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
+ v; l6 i# g& [/ m0 C9 ]% p
+ S+ z/ V7 x Y" b% g(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 q$ c. w! ]( X+ ^and American speakers of English, |
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