 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
* u8 ~ l# ?! x# OInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
6 p7 [! }+ s% r9 d0 isyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
1 ]) B2 i- N: Q; w; i; T5 cand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial' _& [2 O7 y+ @: M2 Y1 F& y4 R( F
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
( y t2 B [ g) h) Lretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
0 P( e" c9 C' \) b+ @A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
8 i0 I+ D. f7 _6 L/ d4 Q+ X[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]1 X. @* |' _( |7 R, H3 l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
' i$ P! M7 K& M" B L. vretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
* {$ d" Y1 n$ @) Epossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
* s b# t8 y% b: w(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two2 P; \ f+ d7 P* L6 I6 N. S$ M
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
8 n; ]8 A1 v, ?& E1 z$ ?semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
* M$ T7 a3 t( send with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In" _5 F' d9 H$ ]$ K t# _' L
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,( d* M/ ^& e& j- ]4 O! B/ I
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
0 y) `5 f- u" ?3 i, f
# \1 J. X; }& v2 R/ o, F+ R(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 F& z$ T1 o" V6 a5 k/ Band American speakers of English, |
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