 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
% Q' ? K" l5 Q4 R* B' yInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
8 d2 l* j5 w( J" d3 {syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
6 @) T# D: [- @4 z, K# X6 tand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial# d( G$ f* a! R8 z7 y7 [
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
8 p! F$ A* J( g, ^retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% J4 B6 p. k/ h* e" sA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
5 i K' \/ U9 U9 y# T5 R# ?[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 ?, g* D; V7 g6 ?+ v2 B4 E
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 n# m/ j3 V+ Lretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
( N. ~9 p, U8 k0 U9 ?* ?8 opossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
- ^. P( g/ ]7 [7 Z7 R9 F1 t(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
( x8 {! W/ l- D) w9 n& x3 B* Asegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ p: W! H5 B: d2 R0 D
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.* E. O6 |; T1 D/ O; ?
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
" L7 ~6 {, ]1 e$ q6 ^ Ecompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,+ S9 {9 Q W1 P8 F
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 _1 ^1 d( B- B6 P3 K( d5 v
5 e. k1 |8 G1 [& H! I(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)' P7 d" \8 d# _3 C; ?$ m
and American speakers of English, |
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