 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
* B4 l3 O' M4 ?" A' b: w. wInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
' l" x# {" i/ T9 L' xsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
k, J; p$ O0 I0 D3 Cand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
* Z# B0 K* z Q0 m(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
, y- R( O7 z/ o3 F+ T) Kretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).. c; D5 Q- f( W, b
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
2 f% h7 }: x% f" D: i$ }[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
+ Z! v* J# E( D# N(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 T$ P& E5 c! z+ E% h& l/ |9 Gretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
: i9 {! z, g- H% N0 g/ ?possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset6 x/ {+ D. A: x5 X, d. r
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two0 s7 r7 P2 P9 g2 L6 S
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a2 R' n" [+ A& D8 v* D
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.6 u. s! H' X( J: y/ ?7 q8 y
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
* ]2 `! Z' v6 k0 I$ | dcompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,9 Q: u: v2 o& k3 U7 {) l- N# `
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
. ?0 P, E& W: D* D J) \ o/ R9 d& b& ^* |) ?! j% m( y, [
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
9 q8 \! e5 n: b3 V$ Qand American speakers of English, |
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