 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
' ^: p* x: B1 Y4 o& b' ^% eInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the7 G9 N" V- A) O' ~
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,8 H) ^! ?* B. _5 Y _- d Y
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
8 T$ ^/ h' R r+ T7 x# M: H(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of$ c% R- c4 D8 e8 M7 q/ _" e9 L
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).! u R( U) p C, f2 ?
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=: ^3 Y k& H8 \% K; ~. n/ I
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
& l1 ~& v( k. i$ ?/ x9 [" g; O% P1 ^(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
$ q) p R7 R1 s' f" cretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
, _: L, {% [% L0 Z, [4 o; x& Q. r& ^3 hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
' g6 c: z W) M/ n- A- t(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two* h) E! v+ Q. W( x
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a$ h4 Y( \. G8 w% |
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.. ^8 f1 b1 {# b) |- @( J; I
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
1 [0 j7 R) P6 J6 K+ ^ @: |compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 r' d* |: k* g6 A; X/ k/ ]
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..- G* ]% v% ]+ {4 j3 a$ p. ~, S/ @
4 J7 D9 ~( {/ ?(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch). A8 f0 r( [4 u2 @1 h* P3 z+ A
and American speakers of English, |
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