 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The! }1 r0 C' i6 Z2 A1 y
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
$ d3 o# b( W, {: N3 Ysyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,: o# q+ d/ N* H
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial! @' {. L0 a/ {, ~8 F
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of) V+ h. v+ w0 t/ @7 g* D, M
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
+ w+ l! H/ Q4 E# O) l4 @A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
3 a q1 j- A+ r; q[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
: T! B' e1 a% X/ L7 u(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving6 x; K* d7 \1 C; N" U9 t- D: t
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 Q, g K& X) ^possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset& j' ~$ @9 V: R6 U
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two6 U, A y7 A, m! |3 @/ p& d
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a2 N5 ?6 A' A, p+ @; D0 C2 L
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.$ ^3 _- d" x+ Q2 r, g) @
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In( G& Z8 C% Z( N5 @% \) N$ N
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
# E1 Z0 }+ q& ^3 Cthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.., q" ?4 A% R4 [; j5 Z' d
5 D2 e% h: \2 ~6 {/ |! Z5 b
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
* b- H: i9 }( R# ~and American speakers of English, |
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