 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The# o) O5 z6 x+ u/ u1 V, o* o% O2 e
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) |3 f2 Y. t+ X3 l& N
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,) C9 e1 u8 P3 g/ E* Z# X
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial) P/ |4 G4 p. U6 x- k8 V" S3 s
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of: e( D& W9 W; N
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
* T0 a' Z K& V+ I$ \" U+ lA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=/ [+ T' s- D" G) o
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
3 f5 W( c5 N8 z& [4 ?8 h(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
+ l: s E, ]/ Y- ?3 `retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 A, Q) M( X3 @" v q+ h2 Npossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' B! U! L% ^$ G. ]3 q+ H& Q(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
1 X6 q4 [" X/ z# m. Q' q2 |: i; Q! Asegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
* Y" U2 c( q, J3 f8 j r- J; O% u& Zsemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.: J; y/ c3 ?. a
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
3 V' Z: X: }( w, C bcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,* z5 s2 C( A4 Y) \; h6 m
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..5 U! L% s- B3 d' X( B) O1 s
, m0 ` b- ^; l+ g! G" A; A, A(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)( ^ y8 j5 U( l2 V9 }
and American speakers of English, |
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