 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The5 i8 }4 d2 o/ h
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the+ _1 q; S! T; S
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,5 r8 Z/ v$ j! f
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
9 K7 X8 R' w, o" ]" L0 {& i(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
- k1 p0 |# {/ P' z \/ xretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
) y( y- w% Y1 X/ xA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
; o( e. C, f2 l% p. P( Y: q[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]: h) S' \( o& U+ X! H$ I5 O; ]& a
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving8 ~# T1 T4 a, s+ @2 m- N
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
" H+ N' {7 c* f2 _possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
2 v1 N8 ^ u! e6 O(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: K5 `7 f" C5 ^4 Q1 c% m
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
* \0 T6 e% |$ V% \semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
w1 H. N' z+ @# w# b& j, y& }9 Xend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In$ p" i5 S: l1 v2 I
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
! g C9 E+ H; x: D( ythe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..; r/ W @3 Y. H$ _. j
3 K1 G+ N/ [$ Q4 E; r" Z& @
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)8 _$ k4 L& @8 R/ h: Q
and American speakers of English, |
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