 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
* h; Y; S( }/ n2 Q2 q% DInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
- Z3 S8 G4 O9 y# _0 esyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
+ x# U8 j8 ?! i& Q2 `4 Wand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial% d! d) h- `0 ^3 p5 ^
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of% k1 V4 a0 B. e! k
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)./ E( l& a, n: r( p; h A
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
5 S; T. U( v+ K5 F4 p[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 R \4 R# p3 {4 {; k3 y# i
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
9 p3 S9 e" [6 v7 Q1 vretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on7 _& H" ]$ O9 H3 w
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& K+ P9 q. q& o- e& i6 a(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two# n0 F4 S2 P8 i y/ r9 V0 ^- M
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 e0 w5 T" ], l$ q. \) ~. v4 Q3 G; S
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
6 |& l1 B( T& c4 K5 A5 s) G% B3 rend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
/ e# r# O! m* |" m3 A) {compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
) L+ j4 F) W' U' y: v! [% jthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..6 \5 ^1 |7 N* Q( e. B
3 ~$ y) T9 n% K! Z(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)% G6 x Y' j+ I& |
and American speakers of English, |
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