 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
- V4 D. ^% @" N( z( [* @2 cInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
K5 t7 c! Y" p o2 m3 }syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ O2 z3 @& L9 { F! Y8 i8 r( hand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
) q( @4 L' h4 i5 ^% G/ d1 s: h7 l(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
1 g- ]. | F6 _retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).4 w' J y8 _- V& C
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=2 r" K; a8 @, I. _4 D0 i$ S
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]' ]# C7 e" W- [: g
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
3 x6 ^* [6 b- z+ @; \4 _. ^retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
5 x. ?# Z9 ~6 b% t8 ~possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 m3 C* G+ {8 _; A2 E# L(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
. Y; Y a& h: Osegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
4 d- @+ A% E; w8 Nsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.' _+ j1 e. @- _
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 O7 U/ i+ o2 i9 W6 U0 k* Jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; D+ V2 c1 m' Lthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..9 \* r. ~* i U) m
) c6 ?3 Y6 B9 `( j+ g& d(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
" \+ x0 l5 U6 r+ E, R$ U& @, i! Mand American speakers of English, |
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