 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
, g5 C% ^8 D& [' w+ G. [4 y, v. M+ KInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the r6 f' u. C6 r2 M r
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
4 q1 n2 T9 v" B- Xand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
; `" ^4 W- g: I; i(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of8 e4 |$ X! q/ \3 _7 X
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% x. O: S+ e! j* iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
0 |; u5 Q( B) R5 j9 Y. ?[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
% h% p5 D3 c3 v {, D& R2 u(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
3 ?4 u/ Y6 h" t/ w, k4 M5 Lretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
9 p- n/ n% {! Y; f9 ypossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
9 M. _; n8 k) r" }5 \8 O2 A+ v5 x1 u(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
5 F) x) C* H- b5 M5 P% M7 usegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
, z! v9 w/ Y5 Zsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
; P7 f- c8 m; N h# {& R3 nend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In/ I. {. ` y E+ p0 Y) ]
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
( D+ ^6 n+ `/ z- Q5 ?: z$ d) Ythe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
. C4 Z8 E X3 t$ u# v/ F
% T- m i5 W! Q' w1 A8 T- g8 U) j(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
8 D6 w5 H0 n& Tand American speakers of English, |
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