 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
$ W; u' V- H7 h6 w! }$ n' D' _Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the$ ^1 v7 V, ]+ ~9 ~ b8 j
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
. B: j" R* P& {0 h! _) u. S. hand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
4 J t) t# n# a) M(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
# ? ?$ f( G; X8 g; Z+ Cretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 N; r, A' ~2 @: u6 sA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=& [, d- n4 Q' e* O+ |0 o
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]$ J8 M6 B& c8 W& i' c0 y0 S
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving" D( R* G1 f" U
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on$ K# m* J! C" J" `0 m' p
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset7 T: X& g+ [9 o% Y3 o6 R
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two6 F0 B5 [/ `/ q+ d
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ l) G8 Y" g {0 z$ m% ~, t1 r
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.9 c( B0 G6 A( P- o( Z C
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
|/ u# Z8 K1 X* A) Dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
9 n# A- s- ?, T! z7 Jthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..1 V& a ~& G/ q; |1 l+ x
. R- I8 s) Q! ~+ b& e* c' ?(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
0 i, ]- K& M* v) {' k; } jand American speakers of English, |
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