 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
$ j) p3 j8 z. a' K) p& b& hInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 `( ]3 s4 P" E% e3 v csyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
( n7 X8 _8 j& H, F5 O1 Jand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
* H' I6 C; W) D) H$ p3 o% E(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
2 l& A" f6 j* _ Wretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 U; e; c, Z* cA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
9 _; ?9 p, N- b; \" }[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
6 A$ V* h8 n' Q(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving# F: p" _" Y w2 K3 d+ W' v
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
, l$ h& N' g, y4 `possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset* C& c) r# N; N1 ^$ L4 n/ B3 I) m( L
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
/ c% _; O7 L$ u3 Gsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 t) C5 w' l7 p4 n# b
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. }6 b- d1 y7 s9 Q+ X3 H9 M+ ~
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
$ ?) l( |' X9 T0 y! E5 s' Jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
1 t! u% b; m) T1 s7 ^8 D! Ithe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
U7 z( j1 w7 n
9 M1 s( c/ x" v& [4 Y' O(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 I0 _% l I* w; w& yand American speakers of English, |
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