 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The0 I+ N" Y2 @; q: G
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
- F3 M, j h# G: Z! Csyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
* d* m2 n2 x$ z) |1 q X2 |; N7 }6 Z4 E Iand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial5 W* ?, C8 `' a6 Q
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
6 u1 H5 R7 G g' v8 }) N$ \2 Xretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).: q" z- c6 K1 x, I
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (= ?1 U6 |& z' x7 ?! P Z
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 M8 a; Z& ~% y6 E2 A* ~: B(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving3 Z3 J9 T* n% v6 Z, W
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on2 f( x5 u& v" E
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
1 v' \' O" v6 { [4 V; T+ W3 z$ k& x( a(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: X' ~7 l4 W/ D5 w4 ]$ c2 r' ]9 m
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
6 `# ]* C8 v! t( H3 \- h4 G% Jsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
, @7 t7 t; }# j; T5 fend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In. s: ` P: n, Z; t( h: _
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
6 X# n+ H/ [9 l1 \6 Q- M7 Athe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
2 ~! N" N4 M) m4 X( C+ w( I& C! `3 d7 O& j
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). R5 p& f4 P/ u) p4 ]
and American speakers of English, |
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