 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( o9 C" E: f o7 k8 L
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
% S# r4 ]1 S0 Msyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
! q- g+ @9 j+ Q t2 a( H4 Vand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
$ E4 k3 P9 R, S: z! A6 b k% b# z(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
- ?/ T d0 K0 n. d# o6 fretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).1 P! ?2 w3 T, J/ T) Y
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (= P2 `: }( I( x
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
8 K8 w: g: [! _! _% D(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving) m- b* i9 Z1 ?- s/ F
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on+ U/ j' F" h) W* x: g/ o
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
/ i* r4 g$ E' e; O(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
3 \9 t( ]/ R! e/ j% Tsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a5 E( s5 K! h, _. [) M, }. g9 h+ v
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( |- ~2 Q! J/ B v% \
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
, H% A3 u) D/ |/ S, b5 O. }compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,5 y- X! d3 S2 b8 Z/ H
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
. ~, G$ v, Q4 Y# m$ S. {8 D$ k9 b: F9 ~# \. f/ J6 J% y1 X: A
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 c# N6 |- i7 R# w! m" mand American speakers of English, |
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