 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The* k6 C7 D9 D2 U6 }2 G/ P
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
- S: @6 q/ L+ gsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,9 f! d e/ p, c! U
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial! ^( W3 w/ [ w! y
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of0 Y3 [& v0 Y5 x+ [) u
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 G I' d# G" YA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=8 z4 a( W f9 l5 E$ O' \7 V9 z% E
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 b" x8 n0 `( Y# p% @ i3 P
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
& k! O2 K. d$ H- F0 s0 ~% eretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
) `+ k9 M* X2 f) q. `$ ^possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
& G* f8 B: o, x0 u/ R(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* u( K6 k* k7 t3 @6 T
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
" f& g* \7 s" Y5 A- Hsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
2 Q9 U8 `/ m. ~" Mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In% N6 l& c7 @1 w6 H- w2 U
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
0 B: v1 F- P4 c' f2 b% ]the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.. l9 E3 J( ~* u( I& h" e
5 M2 n6 `6 r" r* U(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
2 W( b& Q. ?; T5 @and American speakers of English, |
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