 鲜花( 0)  鸡蛋( 0)
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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The
( V" W# z; \7 p pInitial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the: U" m, P0 y# [& t
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,1 r# a% T$ s# a+ p8 P2 J
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
6 k) o# n @) i4 c- `" E6 F+ ?(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
8 W o) W( m2 X0 _5 Nretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
* ?& j( M9 J+ T* K1 IA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=7 P; V# z. l6 l8 f
[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]9 G& m& m' ^0 u0 T; }' K, D
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving5 |/ o" [" W- O J2 C7 O4 v4 e
retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
3 `$ q* v9 H; v1 b' V) gpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
4 x" v& X; U, J. d(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
0 w) P* [( c: y; l' i# a" csegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a5 f' K3 s9 ^$ E: j; b
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
. W+ X* J2 G3 q9 f$ J2 J nend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In- |& X7 _0 i- \# N. f. C
compound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
6 `/ C! J" V& o: Q" y0 t" Athe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..4 d5 C9 P6 g9 s8 a4 m/ [
/ A- T. H: o- n2 j1 e(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)3 o9 e2 Q3 Q& F/ z
and American speakers of English, |
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