 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
. j O& h7 H0 u( mInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 r& q2 z) N8 hsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
5 d4 b+ f" h' J; l' W* Rand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; o1 X8 K! K; Z% ^2 u
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of0 Q9 c2 c) w/ W
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
) V3 {& v* B g. P) h) y4 x8 FA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
[' W0 g- P/ i[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]% b5 W# L, t+ D1 q! K& @8 ]
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving$ F: E$ r# I/ l4 M
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on; o# Y# X; Z$ m: R# t; K+ N
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
$ T- C8 B; ]' h# y) S7 f(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
' I# [; M; ~8 o: osegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
& N. r4 l- [$ r8 d; d1 b z6 {semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. d( M% d+ e! A: K# ?# o2 P0 `0 }( C4 B
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
. m* G e$ |2 h7 Q$ B6 S8 P% n$ H$ @compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; m6 ?/ D1 x$ c! fthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.. G2 f3 y4 h( x0 P
) v* b$ U% `2 {( {4 @" f
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)+ h# g X) ]: P7 h* m; L7 j
and American speakers of English, |
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