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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The* [+ Z& O$ j: G, M& t- _- ~
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the* t# r2 `) h. b- \
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,
2 w# M @% v( Q( i' l5 Z# Qand uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
6 g* h( |6 x/ n: {! o' e @( M(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of; n# e/ L/ _1 T2 @- b: _5 T' [
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
4 B6 ^% Z; ?* Y0 L2 a% jA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
[) e, A2 P, B9 t2 P0 O[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”], P" u7 |7 s0 f' }: D% U
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
w! o& E0 @+ d0 cretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on9 K% l' @. R% M; h- D
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
5 n! Z- ?! g$ |; r8 F) S(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two
/ C+ Q- J9 P. F$ jsegments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a% c0 e, X. P3 q
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
W4 n. j$ y0 K7 _' @1 ^end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
0 O# P9 ^0 D: `; Ycompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
6 J, C( k7 i0 y0 e6 Gthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..9 r! M' a6 q) {. a
% P0 l" l0 u6 \9 r(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)7 M' `* q4 a. W
and American speakers of English, |
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