 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 s) n& d# W/ E8 v
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the' I% ]1 T3 h4 J1 x+ z% `
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 s1 X* }, L& r3 T4 `
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
! l4 D; X! l9 H9 w6 ?2 _& a5 f(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of7 n( o( k8 q4 X
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
$ a1 y( `* N: |" a! H# V8 ]' V hA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
3 ~- c. U( T% S% g[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
9 w4 P& w" o, ^; Q9 q; }(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
( I5 ~2 ` ^; kretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
0 v e K$ }5 D' O+ R! apossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset C% d* U$ o* f: M- C- h7 B
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
8 M1 X2 N3 x5 E& isegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
2 E8 M* y! I; ^% R8 y; Rsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
: b: d _" @3 z, D9 Iend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In, d# z: C/ P/ h# p. Q; a
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
# Z5 Q8 R% b" i/ {; Othe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..9 t+ j- W$ J: u6 P2 n
1 M) q$ b& U4 `3 K$ w; s
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
7 A' t. x- X: }$ D$ X7 e3 e) [and American speakers of English, |
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