 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
" R, }: r" x% W* H4 KInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the& e$ H1 S9 _) t! S
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
8 D c2 _' t+ `7 uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial$ [; u2 D/ |, h* h
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of0 P2 y3 b: w" j/ o9 T% W/ o( e
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).& z" K7 k( W: i8 D/ E6 A5 V9 I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
( G; @- S; }4 ] R* T[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 A+ B/ b& J1 k; I5 }4 s: ?(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving; N; @3 O, U: @7 \2 q
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
! H- g! {8 E; ?1 s: P' B' mpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
0 f5 D% W3 R- J4 K5 ~* M(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
3 y( I# e' M; H& P/ usegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a8 H6 n1 q$ l8 J7 W/ \. j' B: g
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 u( ?6 z7 F+ f" D$ ]1 Q+ ^end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ C" g' b' V) tcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 d+ _; ?5 |& x# ?' @$ b3 K
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
: A E2 H' D# x- @4 m) D" A+ ?9 ?2 D7 z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)" N) r2 N q. C8 `
and American speakers of English, |
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