 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The$ p7 l9 t6 n1 }# I
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
+ R6 t+ s3 Q" e) U0 @$ \4 T- Xsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,6 m ?" A( ^5 w
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial- T9 ^9 D8 E9 l$ |" i' a
(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of8 ~# \9 a3 f f" \. _5 e
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’)./ ?4 V+ V1 o7 l* g
A Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=$ \; v- b6 U4 b* a5 o
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]8 ~) M6 L& y' K5 f7 d3 J- u8 z4 w
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
, K% o( Z' @1 eretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
% ~ b. ?7 d: P2 N- }; Lpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset4 W$ _: f+ g8 l
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
& b1 n8 e) F4 Z' bsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a! f0 @3 n! a$ j/ x5 h
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
) q# I4 |1 I2 \+ P" r, V! mend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In5 @+ p: j: U& u( P
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,6 S* V1 u" R! n R+ _! E
the latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..2 Z) Q h- e7 }5 w- k, r$ }6 x
. b# w( |& N! ^4 M' w
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
& [# t3 x3 [8 a) gand American speakers of English, |
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