 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The/ ~- j$ D# f2 |% C- d
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
9 k" m5 i: {& F- F' Vsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,! {( f( L0 I- q0 u: u% x8 r6 L/ Z/ c
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial \: t! g: B2 ^
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of Z% D% x. Q- k& u0 j- H9 |4 ~
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
4 T) @5 K5 Q8 wA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
) J* R% e* n3 S. ?[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 n* h+ o8 C0 N% C" o; z* R9 A
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving/ D& I; p5 [1 b. R/ n; z- E
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
- m* V* j# {0 S2 C( l- @ rpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 x1 M% ?% G& V/ C+ u, @
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two/ ~/ p" k3 r# E4 Q4 W8 x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a8 {" H/ k: O, ~, t) @3 M. @
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.8 U7 R1 S% f) G' U( |
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
) h7 G' R* f3 r) k8 K) }/ ocompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 s( k2 J; ~& W( W( C
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..& t9 Q! J$ X/ G
8 k" s- y G' Y2 H4 d9 s
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
( q* [, x3 q' }, E) E+ [4 M. F' d% _7 Land American speakers of English, |
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