 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
+ r8 F8 R @: WInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
! I% L1 K7 f3 R+ A3 wsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in," g' P. I& q8 y! T7 N: m
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial( W; f# f! @7 ]9 I# t: e" }1 d! A, I
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
2 c* d5 K" w% V, i% n( s0 [) Z* Dretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).! W! h5 W9 \& P# Q
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=" C; R# a2 J3 v/ X
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
+ K+ H5 x/ H$ e6 Q; W* ^(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving7 o) X k7 y5 d5 T
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on4 O' ^3 A- b( h! ?3 A+ |' _
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
1 k( Z9 Z0 K/ E. d6 c- r(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two! O( X4 P% C$ z& V8 H
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
- o5 p* h2 }# ^7 H3 asemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.4 ]: x. `$ r8 T+ e
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
k1 y# v, Q3 [compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,' N/ O2 w6 K8 E% T+ p
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..7 q T+ l$ y1 O! {4 f
. A5 d/ ~. p3 w, Z
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& a7 b& N Q/ m6 N& Kand American speakers of English, |
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