 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The9 P* E. I7 ]4 m3 d8 v% o
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
/ ~8 K& Z: Q7 a) C4 I. _, usyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,0 f5 z( l# S% H$ K9 n) h
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
: u' I( y% e: l8 w' I(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
! l, H. h5 k& Z' z8 u0 U5 Eretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; k1 C) H) @$ B, b# ~9 P( R. U+ uA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
1 ?# C- i6 p& x% E[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
) W7 O- Z, [: ~(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving# q3 w4 x0 t: ^* H
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on. Y. h; l7 N, W& r
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset, {8 P* ~& G V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
& x) O0 z4 ?4 L7 S+ l& i# bsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
J( n. X! ?$ f8 k d' vsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( L% \- C; V2 e N& g. n$ C. x
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
& P) ~6 v; B( W, e+ W% |2 Lcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,% I3 e& N: k6 m5 o# Z2 f e
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..8 P; K( I0 y; K: V* ?& w2 d
7 w% ~9 c; E% W- l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
; P; {' Y( P: _6 c4 I, [and American speakers of English, |
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