 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The7 i% G I9 Z" ~$ x7 O
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the; G) B1 x1 `2 [: u$ W
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
9 Y! _. z7 I( V- O& n& f7 Uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial$ w) L! b6 o5 ~ R- a* N2 z3 u, z( \
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of, U. _9 D# j& u- Y9 }
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
) o# ]0 n# I1 O1 I) @A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
) H! s+ R3 L, _ k) \% Q, ^[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]' a# F* W- V# d3 N7 j* \4 a
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving/ d- m k: _/ _& T( l. _( ~; e
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on0 X& o, Y( c7 ?9 |/ h8 x! R
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset9 w1 Z' Q0 A# X( V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two) C6 ?: U c( S5 g7 d
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a s6 P" h. `9 X
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.' I9 D z# Q% e% l1 `& s% J' s# w5 }
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 G8 ~3 O! h3 ]& A y( |/ d# r3 Y2 }compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
$ n& a! P Q" N; K3 s1 ~) K: Zthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..9 z5 G6 W3 Q) E( ]1 l% {2 m5 ], l
8 s& a, P- x, w | h(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
4 ?) X: V& ~) w: T( gand American speakers of English, |
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