 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
; V9 G- `( G) Y6 b: u# J% hInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
3 b& o1 R0 @( x. z: }( K- ^7 A- Dsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,. ]6 V9 c; D3 F0 [% V0 {
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
! F8 S- D2 q7 N7 N) e(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
( D& M: C D5 bretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
" [3 d3 u3 M, F( zA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
- l3 E3 ?7 ^( k- @' t[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
( J6 G) |5 Z" U" ?4 s- k. W(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving; _( z& r5 R; f! I5 t5 I" H
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
& b f& W% M' P8 r! {3 O* Dpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset& j6 J* x% H) |9 S
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two% Z5 q2 i) L+ k* \2 H$ y" H
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
; @9 C1 I% h- T7 I& Ysemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
/ f; t. K& M- @* _' S1 V) kend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In* u, N8 R& W z0 \" {+ |
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,7 Y) ^" H3 M2 l9 J$ e% u$ |
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ t/ \& G9 U( R- }9 x
& v$ |- m* u! [5 \+ q(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)8 N) v: K8 n/ N2 i- t- ]
and American speakers of English, |
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