 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The9 f& `/ }( {1 @! z# S
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the5 @- t! a1 Z) |7 m1 D0 ] S, O! S( v
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
: `0 w/ [6 u8 U+ @4 K. |9 rand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial( w. {6 U$ b8 f# z. X
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 y4 I' w; i% P1 o s
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).9 \$ |! }# C/ H- J" l* r. X
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
' \3 t* P/ b* \[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
% ~, ?0 D4 N3 y2 B# c(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving( V4 V& `: _8 [7 v) v& s, W t
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
7 z8 I, e; {, E! L V6 Epossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
0 U# P9 v7 B3 i" o5 y(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two o; ]: x5 z+ s+ ]
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a( ~1 M1 F, V* g& y
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
! z# i8 K' ~* t4 j5 Eend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In. @0 G: k. \7 W: `: Y
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
& j0 h" a9 K8 J$ ?the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 }& o5 E: `$ A( H
9 X& R* H$ f( M(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
* a0 ]1 N. J$ m; b2 h$ zand American speakers of English, |
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