 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The0 ^! ~: q9 m! O7 k0 G/ @- U
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
9 G' f0 h( u. Y |! E; psyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' \3 |6 w2 X8 I u; [- iand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial# C+ V' b2 V4 ]2 I; @: U
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
0 |0 N1 Q( c* N0 C5 [6 Aretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).' A4 S! q5 L! B! i. R" i! C; {
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
1 k% e0 a4 d/ K1 n[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 p$ s' q3 C9 l4 c! `+ V
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
' S6 j2 p/ O( P* l. Uretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
' k+ N e) }9 m8 fpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 ]9 Y* M; S: U+ @. S0 @: }
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two, y3 X2 N8 A! H1 w- \; Z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a" [: a3 c) ~* i- J$ Y
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
6 R* P ~+ S5 H. f* `# Gend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In8 D z" M3 C! P4 X2 z5 f( A2 l
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
' l- r; u, W6 u+ D8 l( A1 ^the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
! @! Y1 f! L6 O$ K+ Q6 ]% r+ Z4 ~8 G0 u" i& a6 b
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)$ M4 g0 ^- G! D9 n7 ^* p
and American speakers of English, |
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