 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
4 g I: V9 a* A1 K2 X ]# j' OInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
& m" ^* o$ s5 w6 M9 d9 ?$ d8 Z2 Z6 Lsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,3 K( |* G% Z8 H W0 l
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial( g5 ^# A# G" o6 \$ w% f7 d, {- p/ {
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
, E( h0 @& X5 Fretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
& [& x R3 z1 S; b& X& }0 `: ]A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
6 g5 |8 C& n5 H2 ?[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
- g9 s' J' h; s; N( y6 Z(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
u$ C G. |# K6 mretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
4 A1 x, w1 U2 G6 k6 D; \; tpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
6 L+ ]; f+ w$ q* b( L3 B1 ~8 l. G(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two: x" c) F3 q, Z; P
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a8 m/ y2 l; p9 J! |. c- B0 c" P
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
# W3 Y7 k5 w, Jend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
7 m- U+ N- H( L( ?compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
( y2 a* `) t. D: n& I4 \. nthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..
* N) d/ [0 J$ Q& ^
- \, y( W- t/ R, m Z+ S(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)* @. x6 j i7 M/ }, Z$ j* K4 `
and American speakers of English, |
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