 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
) f9 H p0 Y. R! a X6 KInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the- s& `0 @7 k2 k* k$ [7 ]6 Z
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in," v$ J6 e' S6 D4 U
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
4 ?6 s1 g) K: i+ L: p5 F(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
2 L' |" P; u+ J) M) d& v0 @4 mretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).0 \+ ^, x* _$ ` J+ b' R: W
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=# g2 R. Y/ C. ]& V/ r
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]# v1 P; f% G s H9 l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving& t& X( {& I( m, v) F
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on3 K# d2 f/ O% N8 Z
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset* o+ P: z+ h9 Q& R% r: p
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. l$ n) h4 r6 }, ?
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a. Y' a# G9 ]4 f$ k9 j
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.) W* x* T/ G; W' R1 O
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
" H! r) l8 M6 `# xcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
$ k2 C' r: I( S2 F4 G0 a- Rthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
- \- B9 n& y( [ q) y% o, Y/ U5 U( v- w
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch), k5 {* B, F3 b1 U
and American speakers of English, |
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