 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The2 n! y5 O: Y; Q/ [/ B
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
% H* E) N2 P5 {8 x+ z( R, ]syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,/ }( m7 x7 I; }, s! l
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
0 z+ u6 m5 L6 a1 K" q/ I(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
" L9 N8 I5 x2 q( V6 ^4 f0 P- ]retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).- A9 R! W9 a. a6 v4 r1 X: _
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
# y4 W7 {8 u; l) d% z7 } K0 C[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
1 Y. b! d4 D" S! l(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving4 t9 d! i# u- w. @
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on- P1 W1 n6 @( K
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset/ l8 I5 j% h! i. y8 @" m1 i$ y E5 k
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two! Y3 R9 `) A. ~8 t& A
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a) s3 G$ l1 O/ t8 O* E" ~' {8 [
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
7 p; `6 n h# B! o9 X1 M5 z, Gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
5 @5 k$ K$ h5 ~: g' tcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
' e% n! m. l n8 wthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..4 j$ D3 |! ~2 e( C3 P$ U" Z
7 v1 d' u' {7 R: X
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). a! d: P4 D9 ?$ H
and American speakers of English, |
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