 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The/ M: q( m: p4 E+ f+ }
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the# |1 {4 o' k8 P2 g0 u! [
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,) Y7 g* U8 e1 c; @) k. B1 c
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial! ~- u2 s+ F. e
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
& k% X7 i- ~0 ^. o( lretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).4 ~2 y3 R: r' E; G* `% i
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
' e( \* u! B# ~[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
& H3 d6 _, Q* _& k0 @% @& I(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving8 g+ D- V; ]' |; n9 n
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
. [( c4 G" @! ?; a" Wpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
$ U! w# }1 _$ K7 \5 }(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
% L0 F8 i! g: w0 V% w/ l& |( D" `segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a l* h1 @3 G1 B( A6 J8 E
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
7 G1 d- J8 T6 S! P3 {: r0 A' i& ^end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
4 M9 F/ d6 h0 @& ]: Q9 z( ~5 `, H; |compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
. x! G9 d8 d/ z0 m u0 b4 [. ~. j1 Pthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
' r( b4 h3 y7 x7 I
0 K' g1 H4 Q- V/ m, g. d7 i(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
! Q- R- N2 F: J, L* _and American speakers of English, |
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