 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The' q$ v6 `* h1 D6 x5 ^: `3 g
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the% d5 o2 n8 K W" |
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in," t6 [% K" D& g
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
, x7 A) |+ A9 I: y+ K& o8 W(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% j2 R- _$ ]5 k: @" [retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
1 P* j, {4 K4 S' h# ~6 lA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
+ @+ u; A8 I8 z* U' U' t2 U" Q[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]3 b$ D7 T* p' V* S4 ^) D i
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
) o2 D! W+ H5 p* k" Wretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on8 J8 ]! G6 Y/ i) j% k% y/ Y
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 u7 e |/ _* c% k- L8 Z
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two2 E. u } c3 S& r! d
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
) |8 ]' a4 r/ m% L+ E) D2 x1 K- X6 Ksemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
0 J5 t2 |3 h" A s. v2 ?end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In/ d; B, C, Q8 h# F& I [
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
! E6 V* R2 [9 gthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
6 B# W6 M3 ~. b) k3 p# ]0 z- H4 d) B/ S) z6 z3 \, O2 k
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)+ i- x& f7 T( D; s7 z
and American speakers of English, |
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