 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The% F6 V6 S- d7 n$ d$ Y
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the5 j! l9 Z4 K) K6 G. S
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
9 ?" \9 ^) a- T9 j/ f1 c! ], T0 wand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial1 T0 A! Y6 p5 G' G8 F6 f
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of( P" `: o2 ^6 L7 D0 U8 i
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
# w% j6 f- @) C- [4 E P4 P4 s! [A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
% \4 x% s2 Z% m+ [" A5 |0 y[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]2 T3 k- j' U6 V8 j
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving* w( ?, h; ]- @7 F% e6 F. k) w
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
$ t0 L' V& A$ t1 Y6 m- dpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset: c& c7 g/ m+ \6 A8 l
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two( t; w7 f0 r9 F3 a$ z; d5 Y
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ E" s0 B. d! i7 U9 x; R1 g ]
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
9 P) Y5 [* S3 N$ h$ F0 ?) u0 T3 F' gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In2 i- O0 L( L% v% Q% V0 D
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 a" B6 S9 K0 h( Z U5 g3 U" u3 z2 G& b& Q4 k
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..( S4 j0 h- M9 t* K6 T7 w
$ l( s! F! f9 X( @) {5 l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
0 L- k) V D/ x' T" \and American speakers of English, |
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