 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The1 z! Y5 @ t& q
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
# u, l4 i0 T) R+ P4 {syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
$ J* Z$ G- l2 {* }and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial# }/ [/ p; P7 y: F! M" c
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of9 f' G1 L9 p" t( g" m% _% N! R
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)." e4 w' d: z6 U% O3 P
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=' n' q! C8 o* u; O7 m7 z6 Q
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]- R# g i& D6 @. V, L- I
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& b0 I/ L! b X! n, x' Jretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on' u0 y# ?) W" F$ i: L# `: d, k3 n; Q* X
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset2 i: G% d* W9 V3 u
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two1 m/ \% f) U: Q. R0 \) @
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
0 }% |, h: @- u: _" |0 Vsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.: x% y( @9 D4 {: b# E/ Q0 j7 W( V
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ @- U( y( R$ hcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
. l0 ^! q/ A3 C& @1 ]the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..3 f! y- Q0 Y# G1 S8 \
3 B0 c8 P' @( v! {
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). W* L* E4 T: z5 {) Z
and American speakers of English, |
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