 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
& N# T, Z, x6 n# o# VInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
/ p2 V" J) \/ X7 ^3 n X4 jsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,+ Q- q" C# y6 l( E
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
( X* E! F# @, ?2 i(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of% X/ b) `( E% i
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
/ p3 k4 M2 Y/ DA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=' W- b) o- P z9 R, s+ h' I
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
1 f, u: H8 \* ?3 d N$ x2 {(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving8 V+ U$ c9 d9 r3 A: o; H7 G& f0 ]
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
# W& N' Q( _: G8 \ D3 n3 F. k) Mpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset; b' K% }( u6 H. ?; n7 j
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
. w' X7 B: f+ b+ c3 G6 Msegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
) \: ^8 h* t/ S4 I( E; x4 Nsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
! d o( }0 |$ G2 }( D. pend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In! N& S. R5 C/ f& W, p; r2 ~
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,; o' y4 A+ Z% q& v% l% c
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..! n& m# B7 x6 z l4 C& B/ N
8 t- k( e: i. s1 a, Y
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
5 A& Y2 `, k$ h$ D2 |8 ]+ c* hand American speakers of English, |
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