 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The0 T) i) k0 N: N/ e3 O1 h' q( W# m
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the( O& I, D* t* a$ M6 f$ u8 I
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,. ~: Z: r9 v. p& S
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial. g' v1 O. L1 q! g4 {- ^
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
' y1 n5 ?7 Q) e0 J* o9 c( C+ _5 _0 nretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
3 x4 z$ y$ s# O5 V( ~* H$ T5 TA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
" c/ e- z8 R( m @3 e% M8 m[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]8 W. m0 d, @. p' ~
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving6 a# J4 W, |; ^8 ?) i& E' B
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on8 T; }5 e2 {) ?1 Z
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
}; k- q) |6 a9 v/ B: O(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two0 q1 Q- V/ o! w: v/ Z# N$ G& a5 e9 b
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
9 [% g8 \7 ]8 Z) Z# T* i8 v* l- z. usemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
1 b$ v5 h3 f. ^# G2 _+ zend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
9 Q9 ?, [8 _- o- L& k: Scompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
2 J& L# Q( K X0 E: j! ^the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 V6 I& z) _1 g H1 h4 z& H
1 ~6 A5 p* d0 O* `; b& }0 t& K(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)9 H6 x" t0 r8 \8 F7 m9 b# v7 L @, s
and American speakers of English, |
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