 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 I" ~9 ^/ M. A$ V# r. `) B K& eInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
S F* W: \* G8 l. T- m* ?syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,* S7 ~4 n# P8 ~( A* m/ |
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
. |# ?5 b4 S8 T. `+ \! j(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
4 T: T7 x5 @% |( [; L4 _7 H4 r$ Xretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
8 b" ? F. q9 C: ~) cA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=% ^, G& {; N5 ^$ s
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]% C& p# k7 e9 ]% k# u' r: A* A
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 B" D# W5 e5 u& k5 I5 `1 f H5 Nretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on7 q7 v+ d# y; A {* |$ w; U
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset* W/ J" u7 I6 A5 O, x
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two3 u$ S2 C& S6 Z
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a3 l) {$ P7 h6 r. \4 L
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.* X) R4 ~( l8 E% V/ W0 t& X. q
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In& o* i6 A- n8 S/ e
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,% d M4 M7 ~( S1 }( ?
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
* l; F, L9 v% _* }. ]: L* A9 L
5 b( {6 ~6 U3 O" O(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)4 D0 A" {5 j% p
and American speakers of English, |
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