 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
/ ]: O) v' A2 \# I5 I" e3 k4 ZInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 i4 \( U9 @, Zsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,' }' ^3 C, r1 \7 s8 Q
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
2 u$ O. v; v1 |: C0 n/ |(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
, n/ c6 m8 w$ o2 X% C/ d1 Gretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
6 F0 v6 C7 e& a( u4 ^, uA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
$ U0 Q1 ~& L$ z [8 g, z+ ^' [[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]0 ]7 P; E! ~. f! s* |- ~! O7 r4 k
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& O X/ p: p5 _7 o2 g6 eretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% b5 n4 a# L3 @* J7 k* B: m3 @+ q% _possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset9 O3 e( P6 F! N2 z; m. ~8 z2 V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two1 r4 X4 Y3 A; k* P" ?
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
7 d& R! E5 J. `# Ysemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.# l, ^3 }. {2 z4 \0 m! W
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In* P1 N! \9 I8 s! Y2 E `: N
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,% o `' A4 j; O! }* m
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..) s+ N+ L J# ?. p4 c
* T% u: H6 C* m! |. C
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)2 }1 g3 R8 ?1 A# V% H0 R! {4 U
and American speakers of English, |
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