 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The3 t( `% g7 `' u- q1 f y
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the( w! ]9 S# ?4 {$ P/ J5 d$ L
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
5 E! \6 L, \2 H% r/ K* eand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial+ R/ G# N% X# Z2 O3 m {$ ?' d5 \, S
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of; _8 A9 @% c( h
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).3 |7 n! [8 E7 B4 G) f& o
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=$ g8 A# W0 O# V3 p6 M, Y0 f
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]! x" l+ [" m$ H1 U3 v/ r, J
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
* o' e$ T2 w1 N: A6 e) y( B) Dretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 N5 ~# y. G' ?" l( M1 x P, ppossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 s# Z/ H2 G6 q9 A
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two5 M+ f& O% o; O; d/ W
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
& y2 ^4 T, N% O, z) u% Q0 nsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
- I5 Q! G( R( z0 ` Iend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( S/ L9 Q0 Y. ?8 P
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
2 `# z- f; w6 r& b5 J% Zthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 q0 l! l. b v4 m% ~/ x* @# a- E
M2 B3 C* d8 m! B4 P
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
% R; h3 e" [* C" G7 Y2 \and American speakers of English, |
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