 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 {: a7 O$ p4 i7 VInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
7 X9 `/ c' W0 t" w U; jsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
' s9 i* T& ~) Jand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial, E& o) i2 l2 \ v' y. Z! g/ {0 b
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
' l1 J+ a1 Z$ b2 c8 _8 o! bretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
?8 z; j( k9 P& jA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
: ?, l! K- n) k6 I/ n[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]2 G0 c6 P/ X n
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving' A7 Q a9 R/ z: L$ T1 U
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on% S4 C. f/ Q4 h( Q; X R2 v% e
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 N% Y) V: G& @6 v! E% p! s I0 l7 b
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
( z ?0 R# h. C8 M& \. @2 Lsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
: W$ Q o. T! U! Y# }7 Wsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.5 P4 k( x/ F8 ]# h" ]% J/ o: i( j- Q1 r
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In; q. y3 k% }& ]( u" K4 E
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
$ d. T8 H+ d. J" ?. {the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
9 z5 ~3 o* u/ C2 A( u4 m: k
7 o% ] o9 x- e. [! O4 h7 U- D; H(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)% V( f- M' U/ n# ^' t( z5 ^* _
and American speakers of English, |
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