 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
' G( ?! h. V4 q! ~/ e7 B% qInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
8 U; b1 Z: x' Z; H; ^8 [syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
! }/ }, ]8 |$ z/ f I% uand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial2 T: T: T, E$ ~) n5 X
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 S4 a( x- [( U* A1 z6 |
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
% \" }- z( D9 M" IA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
z2 U8 k. C7 c* _) q[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
4 ^/ D3 ~' ?! S ](phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving1 ?2 O6 A$ U9 l: v/ a" x
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
- O0 V9 t4 O8 G! A" `+ Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
* j/ y2 ]0 E' }. [! w; R(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two$ z4 k$ y3 G; d3 e
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a' f. ^' ?* {1 R2 R6 X& b$ f; z. W
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
& ?( w$ P* G% V; J/ D: k! r5 Hend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In- W. |6 \3 U) A
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
; {: P! W, k, G/ j( T" ]the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
& O, \5 j/ |- v N1 p0 v
* }+ V7 O F' W' B4 C0 O. ^7 K(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
+ D$ C5 H- @4 s- e [and American speakers of English, |
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