 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
* [7 c+ L+ B% E. A4 w2 ZInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
0 c M9 B6 H. J3 o+ K; tsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
}# M w9 d& j0 Zand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial# \+ W# I- w2 ~
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of3 [" d4 X- ]2 l% K) R
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
3 ]0 K6 f( \- d" w( I, j4 OA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
+ e9 [, K8 q* N) R! s0 O# U4 X[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
. _! G: `+ p& d6 L(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
, f" w$ w; c7 z5 r; N8 e. B% l' tretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
8 B, F) h+ @5 n; w. {possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
3 C' n5 w" b: j+ P* ?(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
2 M( o( X1 ^; i# n& V% msegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a/ E. [; E' U0 j4 P B4 P/ P
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.0 O8 J0 g; A0 t$ S, n% v0 ]
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In% z# {/ n2 x) T9 y$ k
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,( V+ o( [$ t2 A$ Z# s
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..: y9 T# |2 N' w3 x
. g9 }# ~ p, X* L1 Z6 N(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& R* _0 Q+ `* y& d9 ]and American speakers of English, |
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