 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The- R: E% n/ r! r+ B$ k
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the. N- |1 W8 z9 k* T4 b
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
3 V0 E y8 ]7 J6 Aand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
4 z1 ~+ X+ l. M3 H(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of6 p. ]1 D( A2 z5 j* K
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).. }4 _+ S) E5 ~" s- R
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=9 {7 k% m' |; {7 w) ?) @0 H s" n" f+ g
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]' n: k6 M, V" [1 l
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
* {$ ?1 w5 E. a3 J( n6 yretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% @1 v, G& a) m3 epossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset8 Q& k% U5 d$ V( p! S6 J" m, f
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two' L, f9 U9 [$ K
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a
; E- D* J* Y6 t2 y6 Q! L; D4 p$ isemivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
3 `2 i! l9 T# A+ U( u/ u- kend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
6 u' k8 m% R& s& v7 E [ S+ }compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
% o; n5 Q! k" e5 C$ P) `/ o Xthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.." R6 B, `. R5 Q6 [) d
) I* h1 M% ~4 O: A! V, M6 J
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 }! h) V5 Y( N& P* _and American speakers of English, |
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