 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
" U3 q0 B: D+ q3 t5 OInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the/ q ]9 r/ Z+ t( T; M& ?
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ k7 J/ v5 F8 i* a) R: B+ X' V z, o
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial6 f! }7 _: V$ h R) x! O
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of% _% [8 O8 ]" w/ c6 o/ M
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)., ^$ g, \. b, H
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
8 ?$ C9 i) T4 y/ u9 b G[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
- Q |2 A8 A5 E. w K: c(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
; ~( N5 _/ c9 l+ E% Q9 y1 f' kretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
0 d+ T m1 j& U3 Wpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset R. _ }( ~: ~! A
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
) z5 P* M4 V3 d9 Z6 J4 I7 q9 F& }segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a& b$ }4 S2 |7 R) |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.0 j: E2 f) D1 \3 G; q( V
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In9 F* ~. f! e6 e5 I) ?6 W# k6 \' s
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
. V$ y# l9 a; I0 Tthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
! a; F" c8 C+ Q3 C) T( S; E+ o! N" T$ Z* s
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), t3 l, [' e) H9 M/ p8 k
and American speakers of English, |
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