 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The4 b7 v5 A. j& }& R0 r4 V7 y
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
/ f( i9 l% B7 i/ M8 {8 [& Rsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
0 `5 }% u, {2 O, @and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
' n& g" @/ {/ m O4 q* `(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of/ E$ M8 ^4 x9 |; L! f
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
; `' ~* @5 B) l& p4 `0 _1 bA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
. E. _" {9 l- j[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
) o$ M+ n# h9 z2 T8 A(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving* n" D) g$ @( B' F- k
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on4 I6 G7 Y* v" T' x
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset1 Z- u6 N# \ f6 b% a# k
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: z% b4 M1 @, ?7 T0 u6 Y/ H
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ [' w) s, r7 ~5 } B
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.& x- W6 ~; B3 s* k7 T
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
! u/ M0 _; E' [compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
7 s) ~7 `0 J: Uthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla../ I( F6 B' A P9 h
% U# n; P6 u- e# R
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)8 p2 [# \7 \- H
and American speakers of English, |
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