letter of alphabet; phonological initial representative
Meanings
2 senses · 10 examplesnoun
letter; the smallest unit of an alphabetic writing system or phonetic notation
Refers to individual characters in alphabets (Latin, Greek, etc.) or phonetic systems (Zhuyin/Bopomofo).
English has twenty-six letters.
Please fill out the form using capital letters.
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This word is composed of five letters.
The Latin alphabet is one of the most widely used alphabetic systems in the world.
Taiwan uses Zhuyin phonetic symbols to mark the pronunciation of Chinese characters.
noun
representative character for an initial consonant (in traditional Chinese phonology)
formalA specialized term in historical Chinese phonology referring to specific characters used to represent initial consonants in rhyme tables and phonological studies.
In phonology, 'ming' is the representative character for the m initial.
The thirty-six representative initials are an important tool for studying the phonological systems of the Tang and Song dynasties.
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The character 'bang' represents the b initial and is one of the traditional representative characters.
Ancient rhyme books used specific Chinese characters as representatives for initials to classify fanqie spellings.
Representative initials are a key concept for analyzing the phonological system of the Guangyun.