 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
& E% U; m% `! G; j/ Y$ MInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
& K. f/ o. z- Q" s8 ksyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ u# ~1 w# K+ Q2 mand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
7 W9 l: i: R$ t* `(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
) ?4 y+ k" `3 F+ g& r7 }. ]retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).% u! _7 \/ y, S0 t7 G% s# b5 \( V' D
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=9 i& \4 y' s4 B) e; \- f8 c
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
/ m6 u5 ]* v9 p(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
* S3 f: c' k0 b. Aretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on& {6 }! `4 d0 c) l% X2 O& E
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset- i# t2 {2 E; u; Y) \, V2 S1 V/ Q/ b
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. j, l, @( M& C: s" x$ Z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a) g- n ]# `9 L; L- [; A+ j! _
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
+ ~* M i" W6 q$ O: j8 Tend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In* l) T' o! |% \9 Q1 l
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
\) v& s! F1 o6 z% ~! Wthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
$ r$ b+ \) f; O+ Q; w3 V) @5 r5 t6 `( c7 `7 |, n
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
+ E/ ]5 }1 P2 @9 L9 Z- Qand American speakers of English, |
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