 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
/ f/ T2 ~' G1 R/ R. {) f1 CInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
4 c1 b3 [; C& j, Psyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
2 q, L) w4 K# Mand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial* E! E& A0 Y9 k
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of% J- ^8 P6 s# U0 |4 E
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).9 W9 a5 {# D. c/ m& {* N; t
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=8 t7 v. R' `4 m( L" F' y
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]/ |& u% n+ g" q) a$ U' M! S
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving# b/ {8 ?% U* O7 ~
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on& t+ J& C" b% B0 ]! n0 M0 e: X
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
# Y9 H/ O o8 A( H3 g8 R- I, w: l. r(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two$ O! M7 y8 I9 ] V* J6 m
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a+ |- i2 C( }! z z. c" ~% t
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) s3 C4 Q) J2 t5 dend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
# V6 ?! g! E! O" E [compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,- j k. e. [# E! c+ S
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
+ G4 q: q# W% S+ w$ V4 ^) J3 X; o* g/ z. k/ B( ]) l& W8 l
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
) x( U, C# L3 q) q- ]2 hand American speakers of English, |
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