 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
( A3 j5 ^& E1 Y* S/ |Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
( u9 x8 A2 V6 W; o Ysyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: |0 ?; ^4 C7 t' r+ Z+ k5 T( w8 D
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial7 X- r* b R2 S' Q8 M# O6 {
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
. F- F* u- f1 |: w0 w$ v7 i" h* Wretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).) H: f. I$ \9 `; _
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ W1 v1 e2 A' \" e2 S& O8 C
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 h1 |& D2 ^& q! ?
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
9 N9 k! K* l; jretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
* K: [. ~! q* K3 {% e) Gpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 h t) d* X9 T* k(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two' Z) s9 O/ `# Z& R5 B8 x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a. S% c9 N' w2 C" S" I. G/ K
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
6 C3 e3 ^+ ~8 Y% u0 j$ w! Jend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In! S4 \: N+ n# b
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
- m4 ^8 ]0 _1 }: g3 n8 O( z: othe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
# y W9 [- ?+ u; U7 |4 S3 U- X' q' W% Q3 q
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
0 h7 r' g1 M4 n9 I- q4 Dand American speakers of English, |
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