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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The) h4 H8 [" F$ H4 O3 q \
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the
3 a1 p5 h1 V# N' Fsyllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,, O7 R. `- n) }7 k
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
3 [: a. n8 i' P$ E( U(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of9 Z# q$ j9 a! h5 \, v5 k- [' b' g
retroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
" g- T" E' K, o7 r/ X, iA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
7 A4 f P4 y" v+ n' T3 |: q[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]( a2 r% n3 u0 G
(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
+ m8 Z( ^; s; e+ \+ i( ~retroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on
* k7 p/ y" k% ]" o \. Hpossible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset8 v: N0 t7 H; Y, D
(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two, N) W/ ]/ m% Y; b
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a' g! N" g b: r& Z% C4 x: A
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.
! Y3 t( l0 c) a u; Rend with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
! N3 G t- q; R0 s1 f3 ]3 icompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
. |; \6 r, C) Q5 z: v% {9 L& h4 W6 pthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla.., ]$ p5 f/ {! `. [* R. R8 h
$ b7 ^8 y1 z b4 B
(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
4 I+ \' l- g" K- Y$ a r8 Y+ X5 wand American speakers of English, |
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