One system of romanization used for Chinese words.
To help avoid confusion, Chinese linguists developed this "standard" system of romanization. Personally, I don't think it worked.
Initial Sounds ∞
-
/b/ as in /bun/
- ('p' is breathy, 'b' is not)
- /c/ as the *ts* in /nuts/
- /ch/ as in /challenge/
-
/d/ as in /dear/
- ('t' is breathy, 'd' is not)
- /f/ as in /stuffy/
- /g/ as in /gamble/ (hard g)
-
/h/ as *ch* in /loch/
- (but very softly)
- /j/ as the *g* in /genuine/
- /k/ as *c* in /cough/
-
/p/ as in /pie/
- (breathy)
- /q/ as the *ch'* in /chew/
-
/r/ as in /rent/
- (but first make an 'sh' sound, vibrate the vocal chords, then change to 'r' while keeping the voiced vibration)
-
/sh/ as in /shelter/
- (but with lips withdrawn)
-
/t/ as in /tie/
- (breathy)
-
/x/ as the *sie* in /siesta/
- (a cross between 'see' and 'she')
- /z/ as the *dds* in /adds/
-
/zh/ as the *J* in /January/
Final Sounds ∞
- /a/ -- between the *a* in /father/ and the *a* in /at/
-
/an/ as the *un* in /bun/
- (rather than the *an* in /ban/)
- /ang/ as the *ung* in /bung/
- /ai/ as in /aisle/
- /ao/ as *au* in /out/
- /e/ -- between the *e* in /exit/ and *ear* in /earth/
- /en/ as the *n* in /rock'n'roll/
- /eng/ as the *un* in /hunger/
- /ei/ as *ay* in /lay/
-
/ou/ as in /soul/
- (not as the ow in 'cow')
-
/i/ as the i in /chlorine/
- (but after 'r' 's(h)' 'c' or 'z' more of a grunted 'eh')
- /u/ as in /zoo/
- /ong/ as in the German /Jung/
- /ian/ /yen/
- /ui/ /way/
-
/ü/ /yew/
--
- Originally adapted from: About Chinese by Richard Newnham by http://www.magictortoise.com/pronunciation.htm
-
Further-adapted.
Tones. There are four tones in spoken Chinese. The first is a high steady pitch, often marked with a flat line "- " above the primary vowel. The second is a rising tone, marked with a "/" above the primary vowel. The third is a dipping tone, from mid pitch to low and back, marked with a "v" above the primary vowel. The fourth is a falling tone, marked with a "\" above the primary vowel.
Consonants ∞
- c = English ts (as in "hats")
- q = English ch (as in "cheat")
- x = English sh (as in "sheet")
- z = English ds (as in "fads")
-
zh = English j (as in "Joe"; not like French j!)
Vowels ∞
-
i after h = English r
- (as in "grr")
-
i after s, c, z = English z
- (as in "bzzzz")
-
i elsewhere = English ee
- (as in "beet")
-
ian or yan = English yen
- (as in ¥)
-
ui = English way
- (as in "lost his way")
- u after q, j, x, or y = French u or German ü
-
u elsewhere = English oo
- (as in "pooh")
-
ü or yu = French u or German ü
- (place your lips to say oo and try to say ee)
--
-
o is pronounced like the English /u/
Examples ∞
- /T/ a /i/ -- *t* in /tai/, a, /i/ as the *ee* in /beet/
- /J/ /i/ -- /j/ as the *g* in /genuine/, /i/ as the *ee* in /beet/
-
/Q/ u /an/ -- /q/ as the *ch'* in /chew/, u, /an/ as the *un* in /bun/
Resources ∞
- Library of Congress Pinyin Conversion Project - New Chinese Romanization Guidelines
-
https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/pinyin1.html [ 1 ] was http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/pinyin1.html
--
-
Taijiquan = Pinyin
- (UN-sanctioned romanization)
-
T'ai Chi Ch'uan = Wade-Giles system of romanization
- (used in Republican China, and in scholarly circles until the 1970's). Still in use in Taiwan.
-
Tai Chi Chuan = Yale system of romanization
- An early 20th century attempt to render Chinese in easily recognized (and accurate) renderings.
The Wade-Giles system represents Chinese more efficiently and familiarly. Pinyin, besides the phonemic redundancy, has the drawback that the sound of a number of letters (like q and x) has nothing to do with how they are pronounced in most Western languages. On the other hand, Pinyin makes a more elegant use of the Latin alphabet.
Footnotes
Last updated 2021-05-29 at 22:51:56
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