 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
9 E. ^" A1 l! AInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
* M3 y* O6 `" \& }: rsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: V5 K1 N, d( N& @6 O- }
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
; P" n J) ~" ?( i( Z5 ~' r(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of: q/ x0 ?. F1 \8 M
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; v, N* q& @$ |A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
9 X$ {$ s$ V1 `0 [[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
5 `4 n+ S2 [1 V(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
, c& X/ O6 a# z$ Q1 zretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 C: |% {9 Z( H( P! ~possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset( Y1 C: r4 @% N
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two/ V' I+ p, E, X: v* t& @) n
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a7 \: r) D7 B4 V$ v, ?
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
" ]' p' k6 X" p' O' mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In, _: z7 F6 {8 R8 E1 ^1 h7 e/ Y
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,# l8 D9 z& |% g# E# P+ G6 y
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..' z) I9 y! ]! `2 F! \' _+ B
$ V+ U' q/ f7 ?6 Z3 Q7 J
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)6 e y$ |; k# P
and American speakers of English, |
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