 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The2 S, f+ i& n$ N0 h3 J, j
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
2 R/ ^3 h0 G& Hsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,+ c7 |, k7 R5 R/ t# s
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial3 p" \. |+ b" K( }
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ y) D5 h! z/ `+ u
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 {8 r# w& Z6 Q7 r
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=( }# j7 ?- l3 A) W7 ^9 _" u
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]. W' o$ c) ]3 {( X
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving. T4 h( z: {* x, ]/ l2 I
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
1 n6 \! O S: L) w6 d2 |+ K; Bpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' d2 d1 n/ J- o" e4 w: c(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
- e5 ?$ g) Y( K0 P0 Q5 [( e. Xsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a! x2 P, s6 T3 b3 k9 @; S! t
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
0 g3 u) z8 Y( n5 i9 h3 b# }0 l( tend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In1 ?( ~1 o! r; C' {6 @
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,1 Q) b x! V# M8 d
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..6 n* k' o+ ^5 Z" `1 J: u; L+ E- s! ~
; c% ^* U- `: u! X" d$ i(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 Z: x8 d- R5 [1 n0 t: h: iand American speakers of English, |
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