 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
6 s1 T& p X" L( L' k" e( A* uInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
' e2 z# D. ~! y2 e$ ]syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
- x4 {# |0 P( e: D" wand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial; n& w7 ]: b6 Y3 z. S: r( J
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of# Y. U* o' [! h
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
B$ q1 v- _5 F- pA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
0 _$ A8 e- c% g, q% W[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]1 T5 _4 p/ F4 n
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving- ^3 x" z# ?5 V g" _, G) ~( s
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
' G# G& i4 E% @0 F- npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
) Y7 l. d9 D) t" L(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
: I) P! ^ e6 _2 p, zsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a, Q' I' N$ \0 Z1 q/ J- {! a
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
2 \( H& Q5 Q+ p9 b- }* c+ e# \end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In W2 `5 t6 s5 u: m. S
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
: ]# {, I* I$ t" _$ T# Y# qthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
7 l1 Z& Q# h/ l1 G0 o% p: ^+ \% I. L
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
* o# W/ X( h2 W/ \and American speakers of English, |
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