 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
( s$ M, Z7 c- i) W& I! U% {( R0 pInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
/ J8 a# m5 }2 U$ ^+ D6 Fsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
1 ?( w! \7 e4 ^. cand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
( ~% n; H6 S0 V8 {(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
8 Y! t8 @, e6 `; Z# h0 hretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; f0 e% }4 L5 k$ } yA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
8 t, E2 @0 \9 M4 l- k7 |5 Y. ^[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
# h7 O5 t6 ] [9 [! L7 \(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving+ n9 h! G+ `! K" l
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on( N( [+ e# I) w9 e3 j# e
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset# Z( c" t4 R; F; H
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
' k7 h9 ? m3 P* f3 b8 f( Ysegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
3 r" l% ?6 D7 t/ _# Y# n: Msemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
5 J# G& H7 U z1 mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In; c& W/ o n! ]0 a8 o: O3 m, |
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,. u# {$ a7 J: q- g
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
1 z$ [) ]/ u2 m& d1 ]. n2 x% x, M- I8 O1 e, h7 D* g5 i
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch) h5 U r$ L9 _( |& J" G
and American speakers of English, |
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