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Traditional Chinese phonology divides the syllable into an Initial and Final. The( h6 F; u6 P# R5 x* c
Initial is the way a syllable begins, usually with a consonant. The Final is the) x+ C6 N0 y+ g& r1 U0 E
syllable minus the Initial. For example, in ta, chi, jin, chuang, the Finals are a, i, in,- Z3 W8 Z& `$ v1 a7 I
and uang, respectively. The longest form of a Final consists of three parts: a medial
5 U. M: j- d% D- p(or: semivowel), a main vowel (or: head vowel), and an ending (or, in the case of
% ^# N, |* q0 s uretroflex suffixes, sometimes two endings, as in the er-sound ming’er ‘tomorrow’).
( j: p9 }3 |( jA Final in Mandarin comprises one of four medials: º (empty), /i/, /u/, or /iu/ (=
: f' B$ U* I: a E7 S. ^[y], one of three vowels: /a/, /e/, or /o/, and one of six endings: º, -i, -u, -n, -N, and [”]
/ P* R/ o! f( s(phonetically -r).13 Actually, there are only 40 different Finals (if Finals involving
7 L2 N2 D1 ?4 Q `/ C& dretroflex suffixes are not counted). As a result of these very severe restrictions on+ D3 \0 q1 v7 X
possible syllables in Mandarin, no obstruent clusters are possible in the onset
. a/ v [4 f/ s- O0 U# ^/ C/ ~(Initial) nor in the coda (Final). Onset clusters can maximally have a length of two) W3 L% z, H" x. a! W2 F
segments, in which case the consonant closest to the vocalic nucleus must be a% B. v+ U% q$ I" G7 R' k4 ]
semivowel. Coda clusters are disallowed; in fact, syllables are generally open, i.e.7 Z( V5 W0 b# D5 h+ L# c7 V
end with a vowel. The only possible coda consonants are the nasals /n/ and /N/. In
# H5 q9 G8 L# F% Scompound vowels with /a, e, o/ as the first segment and /i, u/ as the second element,
7 {! k- ?4 f7 j6 P9 A- h$ H' c- Jthe latter are phonetically realised as semivowels, creating a diphthong. .. bla...bla... bla..8 U e2 ] Y, O
& B' T( B8 M5 \(source: Wang Hongyan, year unkown, English as a lingua franca:Mutual intelligibility of Chinese, Dutch)
$ E* J. e/ ?4 q0 g. \$ ] n7 ]' s+ dand American speakers of English, |
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