 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
! h+ f6 d, ^7 Q4 @( HInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
$ ~0 m2 Z) a2 l# T9 q4 Dsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
" _' L5 u! D. h! T* w0 R# oand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
" v L1 |& K( B! E6 M' w(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
! T4 g5 d$ k7 B- J" iretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 b ]" v) A1 {. y9 XA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=# L% I- H, h( S# D2 D
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
% U! `4 W" P: Z; h5 Y# `3 U+ D/ ^(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
0 \: D3 P0 p( B7 f1 U" o2 c% Cretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on) J. w, R6 V2 O/ ?( f7 M2 n
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset0 O1 ~8 [! k% W
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two3 I& \4 a$ Q% o: |2 z! ?. U
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a. i' V8 L6 m( r
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
+ U4 a X3 b- x+ L5 B Nend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 q* G' E, c. Z2 ]$ ^& B4 F" M- k
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,, }6 P* e. M6 J9 T* U0 [
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..5 K2 t& A& k/ Q( a2 C$ b) ^- N
, ]; O! I4 r7 M% S
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)1 \" {: B7 m' i- S6 B7 Q) p# Q
and American speakers of English, |
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