 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
5 a; K8 t1 W0 H8 L9 hInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) Z8 g1 @6 y7 Y |! t P$ G# a9 N
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ t) h( h& K" @
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
\! x& j! B- J(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
0 |: R, m$ o. _$ l' uretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
' j0 W- o2 C7 L5 R: P( S0 BA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
/ e9 ~- n. I8 X& J* r, v8 [[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]: i' _- j$ l6 x6 N5 F. \, s
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving( ]7 e/ o, [$ `7 b8 h2 x( P( @! \7 K
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 Z! { j/ ]/ I9 w, M" mpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset" p+ V4 P& {& ^6 u& j
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
u( Z4 T! Y- \" Osegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 X2 U. X! |/ i, f
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
( _, \5 e% Z. y. ]/ A3 G) Wend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In* N/ t/ ]$ k9 `( Z/ h2 l T9 T
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,( x( l- B$ B# `0 c+ |" {
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 v4 a8 q, `. v( v& M+ N
) K. d. a1 S1 _" p( D6 M(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)+ {# W. ], Z$ L4 o. E' \# ^) N
and American speakers of English, |
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