 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The$ g% ~3 G2 @2 U4 ^9 O# h
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 F* ]. F& ~6 E1 o9 }7 Q8 m
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
6 o# R: E( o* m2 Vand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial2 z3 e* M* B0 y. u& u- F5 m
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& q3 r, p' \- B) Y6 qretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).5 X8 ]( j. d! V O1 ?/ m
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
2 z; ?! I, b" @. s[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]$ k4 n. j8 ?8 T4 i( C
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
! a6 W! n- W# \$ Q" uretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% u7 M/ x9 J5 w) N' d9 K; fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
7 a2 o9 p; Y S4 l/ e. A D(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
1 p) Z6 n7 E ]/ osegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
5 f: ]* s g: b+ a4 T3 R' Ysemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.- n3 U3 h# ]$ C! O) g, r# [9 {; ?
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In' V4 L- s$ z: @
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
$ ] n2 Q* x2 vthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
7 T# j. e7 A. u5 M0 w# Q
; ^& m/ u8 n1 |4 H& b(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
- }0 J7 w& s6 n9 Y# _3 s! land American speakers of English, |
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