 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The0 b) C; f2 f' k) e
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
9 X: ]7 j4 k1 x% |: psyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,8 ~/ g5 U' x3 v
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial! C! D& _5 q X) c" m9 G" l ~
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
5 l( y! V* z+ ]* L+ i. m# D% }( Cretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
" Z; H: ]' R( B$ ^7 E: MA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
3 r% T* Z- L- Z6 X" y6 k1 H[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]/ o. ~& f1 v' B, H% e) [
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
2 T1 G6 _, y5 ?5 S& x! ^& O& j: |retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on9 r8 R9 k( M- O$ o1 S* H* r* V, _6 y8 ~1 W
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 C- Y8 i D7 j! H: v9 N5 H% w5 u* L! A(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
7 ]: `% n J8 a3 G4 |4 usegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a B8 M: T2 S5 J/ \
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 @! n" ?/ X" E% t6 z; T/ s* w" p4 [end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In& p: U! P m/ J6 [ f
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
! Y; o! _9 b! }5 B9 P7 cthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
2 ~. ^0 r5 i* N0 T0 Q
% _: B2 H! v' O(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
6 }& U6 {0 |* z! `7 Y$ land American speakers of English, |
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