 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
% Q8 ]% P2 a% e5 e. x& Y# PInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# I k5 m2 b2 A ~. t, C* G: j
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ g2 b S0 _0 s6 T
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial! O3 W+ b/ P7 R/ Z) s& t, I' p8 N
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of. f3 K Q7 q2 ]
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)." P! @5 u; ]% w; [ Y
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
$ B1 d3 u7 n/ e$ Q9 |( R9 k[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
- ^, X0 t( {' |( Z( z(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
" X7 L% J# y4 J" ^2 o& |retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
7 c1 }5 i" z1 g! l0 a" Hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
5 \5 F. B' G+ M% ](Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two5 I1 y" [: O' T7 e
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ K( G: _6 u4 R
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
/ C( D) w9 E. f( H% tend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
( r" _( J" ] Z* ncompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
5 Z: s1 i: ?: vthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
+ { d. a9 s) p# g$ o, _$ V% D7 x4 v( u+ A1 N' \* Q, a- `
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
" G3 k2 W! S" l/ ]: U# }8 K+ j, |and American speakers of English, |
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