 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
2 p/ _9 @; m( X' q7 E2 aInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the7 n: T6 C, Y# T7 a. ]" |0 m& U
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- ^7 T- Y, R& O; ^/ e
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial0 c% s2 j0 r7 F
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 l+ ~- v' A8 }* O8 L% ~3 S1 _retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).$ C( I' M+ q8 d, ^$ C7 e$ I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=$ D4 o, ^( J3 z" s" `. A! G! q
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]8 N0 k8 ?' O# }- r
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving0 S0 `1 d, _& ?: h. l7 n+ f
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
+ S2 z4 d. p2 Z* hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 F! Y( S( O! ^1 `4 d3 p5 t
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* n7 f2 {. D) [% a5 q" Z; x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
" K) {5 K* e0 w% O- A! msemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
4 z4 G E: n( q) wend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In- E' f2 {# a7 H: ^
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,* i/ ?! P C1 d# x
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
2 M7 A% c; E' F7 A% S* n i* ~: u8 @, i7 `% A4 W) `% C
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)( l6 J0 j( s. `6 n
and American speakers of English, |
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