 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The& B- @- e ^/ U2 W+ e- q
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
# k$ j( }, P# B7 G8 c( \( w- P/ z! ~% @syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,) s; l+ p5 U& N7 C P; o- r
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial. P# r- @/ h" ?) x/ z- u l$ _
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
4 v5 X9 `; P) [4 h$ ?; l+ P( Gretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).3 F2 b: x$ `+ k- z
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
% f1 F: y7 _, l7 s+ h; m( Y' k/ ?3 X[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]3 \! S+ v9 A) m9 J. l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving: H; {& S& ~" J N' r3 u/ Z
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: Q! H2 b( S5 e5 a8 Ypossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset! Y4 }3 ^- i1 ]" V
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two6 y* Z. x6 H, D2 v
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
6 _ {# e6 O R; V; Z. Asemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.1 w( P- {& q* E% N' @
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
4 X! \$ ?2 p. x5 c2 P. T# ^" Pcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
/ ~- S& T7 \3 i& V! e- ]/ B7 Bthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
% Q } V( H# k- S7 g2 U X
6 E& I- B+ |( i, I(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)4 l# T$ i M1 b: H q( F
and American speakers of English, |
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