 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
5 s$ d8 h; g3 z, l2 rInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
1 l7 L. F" n+ g7 F4 | }; I9 q: Usyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,$ _1 M2 N- G+ A6 w% d: T
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial4 X9 p5 P( h, Z1 m. Q
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of' d9 T, P& U, L* d9 m
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).4 A1 f/ |" I4 n, c$ W
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=$ ^2 W# i- z- b" G
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
! U! h% N: A1 F8 o: Y. Y4 H0 A: t(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
u' N2 A* b/ L( e. S; n. u. ^- z8 {retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
$ w6 W! b7 i4 X/ t* Hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 a' J) x0 b4 R L
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
1 u5 b& }3 w# b1 O0 [# y, |( Gsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ ?! o) d @# j! h. g, U
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.( N& u. F- }0 s" L
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In$ l4 [4 F6 G9 A2 K' M6 Y. Z0 @
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,+ J% b9 h0 z" ]) F0 ]) j
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..; f! N$ V) _& J$ u
4 L) w* @; q: C(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)+ t- `8 o& c( n
and American speakers of English, |
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