 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The8 \3 Y2 T L' g5 ?: q0 G) N: O
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the/ V5 p# s0 u0 C; _
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
; s, Q. [3 T; K& g4 q( { Uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial& G+ E0 M( C/ X2 Q5 x ^
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ s1 r; w( z0 D/ b1 H' ]5 g: q
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
5 M/ j+ y3 J |( Z7 G, |4 A! w/ {0 uA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=& l2 R o- ^; u' @: J
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]. U! Q4 h/ l( ]. X% @5 D
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving- Y9 b9 t9 K7 X: D) q# s- m
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
1 H0 t* P0 t, i# G/ B& rpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
0 N) u5 t }0 e" G" y3 o8 h' \(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. q5 G/ X/ ~. x. {/ b% d; U( H* E
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a/ i; q. F2 t3 M; T' w
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
* J, Z3 q- b+ \( @9 w; hend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ a8 X1 u: A5 f$ I7 [ Jcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
7 [8 ^! S& ^0 h4 e- [) tthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ n1 B! v- S4 o4 x z$ _
& c$ ^9 c6 |- `" O% _3 O(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
: e" \/ k( r1 Jand American speakers of English, |
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