 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The7 w+ a0 J n7 }% H) e: m
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the2 r# h ~- i3 y" X
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,' D* q$ p& e5 W# b& S" q
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
% H( V8 }, y# g" `5 ^; u(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
6 F2 n( S; b$ f; K( Y hretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).2 S: \: F5 Q: Y1 o! M6 n
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=: B, U4 }! o9 F
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
' f% M( J3 }* H9 ]3 n(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving( v# o$ P! [; e0 V, B% C# ?& o2 N
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on: Q3 z3 t6 A; h3 w2 ?6 |% H% Q1 v
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset, W2 W" P+ i& z! W
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two! M* K8 M$ i! [% b; I" R# r. p
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a8 C, d+ r5 T* Z' N5 g
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
5 T# S2 W) o) |0 o- ~% Xend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In7 w3 X( n3 S" @. D
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
2 N8 x1 x- U1 D7 R" ythe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.." _! J8 Q% f% w8 ?0 Q6 F
5 v/ `4 U. M1 p; a* p: O(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)/ S/ Q* H: H' ^8 J/ k, t [, S+ t( E
and American speakers of English, |
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