 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The+ U( j$ V* Q1 z) i; C- D9 e
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the$ |; |; J5 C/ v& Y! J& p
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ o" p# ^' a8 a0 l% M1 d8 Q6 h7 Land uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; u0 a. T" X) m- _4 k" H
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ y( @ R" c. h3 ~
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 M0 y6 n4 C( i
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=, k' c3 i4 s; c$ \8 O- H5 S! H
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]. R7 N7 ]) p. D8 w
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving" }6 A" C* f$ M1 z3 q$ a( A" l6 S
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
( ^, _, o& P8 \/ `% _+ L6 O+ opossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
. v6 H& k& ], y(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two- x: X( ?6 ]2 U' m* }& W
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a( K5 h6 H* ?: `& d
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.! j3 C, X% v) r# V3 @
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 ?: v" |, N" `; o1 `
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 J {0 _4 A% B5 Q0 [
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
" [2 S5 [( H, p0 T! {
7 b/ C8 r8 w% c" i; h4 {4 Y(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)9 @5 ?+ E( J2 W# V+ U8 m
and American speakers of English, |
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