 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 }/ k2 Q E3 V5 O) A
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 R" v" I) a5 M/ ~
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
- P; p, ?: T3 O, band uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
`: [% {. F1 k: y( B" p0 y# \(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of# _+ x$ G& [5 L& ^& v; _
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
# }# S$ M) V; _2 [- s; F0 S+ f) ]A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=" J: C C5 ]' x& I4 [8 ~, n
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
) w7 p. F) Z4 ~( y(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving3 C; @+ w) D! G2 b' e9 D- M- \: i
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% B& L4 `$ a( r: W) v% O( p- `possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' f9 L! @- Q, j4 B(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
* ~6 S, a0 k( }, @segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
, i4 T2 Z3 Y5 e+ D# G- vsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
$ x# F( C/ ^7 w0 S7 ?end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In5 H- [6 g+ g1 b6 |
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element, U% R& q( A2 j8 d+ _, g: {* _
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
3 _5 E, q9 @( r
' b( K) b8 @: C. g(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 o2 _! |, D2 y. N! P5 ?4 A/ qand American speakers of English, |
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