 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The6 ~* f* V6 P1 }/ x0 {( i/ c* ?
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) K- N j' @1 X. R! t- ]5 _
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
3 m' v0 e8 x+ }5 i/ D" ]/ A( G$ \and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
, j ^% E, _, `' @4 \$ ]8 `8 ~& p4 z6 W(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
4 ?. J6 t' d7 n0 R' K4 g* C0 V7 fretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% K! {" C' O1 e4 {$ ?A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=! y( a0 I2 l! p& {9 i- _* g& s. ]& R
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 u& V, y- Y* j' p' n(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving; w/ d! h& R: [ `
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
0 h8 x* E8 G) a7 Y' j- `* qpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
: `, x# P" F# R; Y7 m0 G% b$ x(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two+ H$ a1 F+ V5 i- x# q. Z' e+ N
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a k, O" M1 h8 ^7 O7 A4 w6 ^, |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
# g! D" C8 G7 d3 x$ Q# Jend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
+ |; J' u6 t" q# ycompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,' n1 ?% p* b' P5 c8 S+ p
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& |6 G# l* E1 Y6 I
% i3 L6 i2 f; C8 t% e(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)3 K$ [5 _, P! q
and American speakers of English, |
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