 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
; x8 k6 {. ]6 x9 o3 g8 ]Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
+ e6 |; D! U) [& P; p$ T+ C8 G5 ~syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,, B) F9 w' | _4 }* t: p
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial) `8 _8 k& F8 ^- v- q. M
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
' [; l+ p; B, lretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
) F {/ U) _4 D. _1 L+ m! W! h- Z; KA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
1 `1 R0 _4 D C% i[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
9 y5 A# o0 D3 I: q(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving% Q% _7 k4 F; h! G* Y7 D
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
1 h5 `# }: p( `. M0 m" ipossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset) Y# r$ Z! X; {) k3 l
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. _3 o. G! `9 A. M% d+ ^
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
( Z' O2 l; h# W# x. Tsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
( R5 v0 H" J2 [% L( x1 zend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In4 A& t# d$ f; B6 u
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
( @( O- j, Q! I. P- j4 H( zthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
* \4 n5 ]2 p2 X# I }+ c Q8 K. a1 L! R+ d: K- T. R
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
( ]: [. a( K& A: D9 ~and American speakers of English, |
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