 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 E2 Z/ N/ w" }+ w$ v9 eInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the8 [/ U5 \* F$ X* x
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
/ f2 N5 T' R" \ }and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; H( x3 c; v* @0 o
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
7 l9 c+ w) Z: Y& G8 ^8 hretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’). |% b" ]$ [$ ?4 m7 W; ] B$ ? M
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
* P) N% B+ q$ T) ?% `) T# E6 I. I[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]/ \+ W0 a( B' j4 {1 Q7 D
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
/ S( Z: p6 h' W% A2 Oretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
9 w3 `: k6 D# P G* S/ P2 Bpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
8 ]4 f7 W7 B/ T: b0 u3 ](Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two2 X* r2 M2 R# Y1 N( `
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
a0 S' Y- k# W) J7 b3 Isemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
0 E8 ] w( T2 M3 b* |end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 I5 h8 V( J. K$ L9 Dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
- E8 W, _2 J) `the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
: H# F" @: J* t+ L8 E0 h+ ^) f( q E" f9 E& f
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch); O3 n0 I' ^" u3 B+ E. K
and American speakers of English, |
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