 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The8 u/ }1 |, I+ V2 ~8 N
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
& V" J3 }5 C0 U( l2 n4 i# msyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
; R$ P( _0 v |# ]8 _1 fand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
5 R" R9 k3 V3 Z0 m* o9 d7 ~(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of5 d, ?9 T, ]* H
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
5 S4 `# H( L8 s; W* c4 w5 |! VA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=! X$ a; V, I: a- G$ Q
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]6 \# G5 I" Q0 t; s
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
9 u1 U a. F; }" M8 Zretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on5 J& X! [: p# b* J
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
+ f6 |* d+ \* ]; ?) v' |(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
$ b7 O% j) f( m, H) ?segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
8 V: U( [* ^ W/ Q! n! Dsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
+ H$ p7 @. |8 `/ u, b1 Vend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 v' Z) ^! }0 ~* L( t/ e/ w6 |/ J
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,0 x* C3 k3 s3 _7 Q: c0 {
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 v. L" K: x4 r' N/ Q; D0 x2 \
, c0 l. P: b# n$ j0 ~(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)1 T/ |1 J5 @# Z& J7 Y2 _
and American speakers of English, |
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