 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
k4 V" Y0 `3 `! _Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the& H- e% x( v" p# Y! e! y
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
2 ^: n9 R! _- V! ~; | ~and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
; p Z x- G+ F7 z9 f* E/ `(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of8 W8 z+ e8 R4 u+ ]6 g g, o
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
- h0 s" R) e" _* `" vA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=& U6 l' M0 }9 v* b1 f" ~8 M+ M
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”] V7 a7 E) q, s n8 {5 o
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving$ h t/ C: T: l* F! ]
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on( H0 p! d. l! V& t# L2 J' j! y1 B
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
. X5 `! K6 r3 w(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
3 n- G1 q0 t, N' @) W' rsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
, n* {% o7 f0 y' C$ H3 _semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
/ R' Z, n7 p R0 P6 y; zend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In! g9 D* g5 L3 P5 C
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
$ g$ M& f4 S1 q; v( C/ Ethe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
/ i+ X! s. i3 p8 F I2 w( F
, N& n) d" k& ^ F2 ?(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), D' E& W6 t7 d% c
and American speakers of English, |
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