 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The% T1 h! \4 S3 W: P
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
' g5 k; L. h) P# H& h! j4 hsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
; [ M, _+ Y4 o9 m. Eand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
n3 n7 R) h! r4 b3 t. L S(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of4 d- n6 `% v& L
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).$ ]8 t. q5 o) K' p6 k/ J8 f
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
* u* [$ B+ A, `! D5 z: L8 j4 x9 }[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
' ]+ O) K/ {: V( i0 n' z, r(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
4 G# o6 {8 U& qretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on2 v* w& b# _3 X! }( z" x' N
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset* i/ m2 }3 B/ F$ q" U/ h8 B
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two. T9 H, s6 A0 b% [4 A
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 Q1 O" S; i# A- U4 a
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.0 o6 E( R3 V2 V/ ?; J& _- A
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
2 f* f( u" ~8 y$ h3 T; @+ E6 dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
- H( c9 c5 f/ c& E' D! tthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..+ O( G! \* @; a# i& O
/ h: q4 P4 a# Z9 _
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
# r" w# K# a& x ~and American speakers of English, |
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