Difference between revisions of "Hanyu Pinyin"

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(New page: '''Hanyu Pinyin''', also known as '''Pinyin''', is the internationally recognised standard for romanising Mandarin Chinese. It was approved by the Chinese government in 1958 an...)
 
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'''Hanyu Pinyin''', also known as '''Pinyin''', is the internationally recognised [[standard]] for [[romanising]] [[Mandarin Chinese]]. It was approved by the Chinese government in 1958 and adopted in 1979 as the basis for romanising all Chinese names and also for the teaching of Mandarin. It is used in all schools as a basic [[literacy]] tool upon which the learning of [[Chinese characters]] is based. It is also used by most universities outside [[China]], other than those in [[Taiwan]] as a basis for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language. It is also noteworthy that Taiwan has developed a variant of Hanyu Pinyin, known as [[Tongyong Pinyin]] to replace the [[Wade-Giles]] [[romanisation]] system that was previously used internationally, but is now only used in Taiwan.
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'''Hanyu Pinyin''', also known as '''Pinyin''', is the internationally recognized [[standard]] for [[romanizing]] [[Mandarin Chinese]]. It was approved by the Chinese government in 1958 and adopted in 1979 as the basis for romanizing all Chinese names and also for the teaching of Mandarin. It is used in all schools as a basic [[literacy]] tool upon which the learning of [[Chinese characters]] is based. It is also used by most universities outside [[China]], other than those in [[Taiwan]] as a basis for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language. It is also noteworthy that Taiwan has developed a variant of Hanyu Pinyin, known as [[Tongyong Pinyin]] to replace the [[Wade-Giles]] [[romanization]] system that was previously used internationally, but is now only used in Taiwan.
  
 
== How Pinyin Works ==
 
== How Pinyin Works ==
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In addition to the pinyin letters, there are also four tone marks to indicate which of the four tones is to be used. For example, the syllable "ma" may be written "mā", "má", "mǎ" or "mà"
 
In addition to the pinyin letters, there are also four tone marks to indicate which of the four tones is to be used. For example, the syllable "ma" may be written "mā", "má", "mǎ" or "mà"
  
[[Chinese characters]] are all monosyllabic and may exist on their own as individual words or be combined together to make new ones. This is reflected in Pinyin, for example the character "车" (chē) on its own means "vehicle". However, it is combined with another character to make "火车" (huǒchē), which is "train". In this instance "huǒchē" is written as one word and not two. Pinyin words are also [[capitalise]]d in the European fashion if the words refered to are [[proper nouns]]. [[Chinese names]] in pinyin treat the [[surname]] and [[given name]] as two words, so the name of China's current [[president]] is written as [[Hu Jintao]] (Hu is the surname) and not Hu Jin Tao.
+
[[Chinese characters]] are all monosyllabic and may exist on their own as individual words or be combined together to make new ones. This is reflected in Pinyin, for example the character "车" (chē) on its own means "vehicle". However, it is combined with another character to make "火车" (huǒchē), which is "train". In this instance "huǒchē" is written as one word and not two. Pinyin words are also [[capitalize]]d in the European fashion if the words referred to are [[proper nouns]]. [[Chinese names]] in pinyin treat the [[surname]] and [[given name]] as two words, so the name of China's current [[president]] is written as [[Hu Jintao]] (Hu is the surname) and not Hu Jin Tao.
  
 
[[category:China]]
 
[[category:China]]
 
[[category:linguistics]]
 
[[category:linguistics]]

Revision as of 04:56, May 15, 2008

Hanyu Pinyin, also known as Pinyin, is the internationally recognized standard for romanizing Mandarin Chinese. It was approved by the Chinese government in 1958 and adopted in 1979 as the basis for romanizing all Chinese names and also for the teaching of Mandarin. It is used in all schools as a basic literacy tool upon which the learning of Chinese characters is based. It is also used by most universities outside China, other than those in Taiwan as a basis for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language. It is also noteworthy that Taiwan has developed a variant of Hanyu Pinyin, known as Tongyong Pinyin to replace the Wade-Giles romanization system that was previously used internationally, but is now only used in Taiwan.

How Pinyin Works

The Roman letters used in Pinyin do not necessarily have the same pronunciation value as those of English or any other language, especially q and x. Here is a table of the Pinyin letters with a rough English equivalent. The Pinyin letters are divided into initials, which consist of consonants plus w and y, and finals, which always start with a vowel, and which may exist as syllables on their own, except that those syllables beginning with i, u and ü always begin with y, w and y respectively.

Pinyin Letter or Combination of Letters English Near Equivalent
b b
p p
m m
f f
d d
t t
n n
l l
j j with the tongue flat in the mouth
q ch with the tongue flat in the mouth
x Like "sh" with the tongue flat in the mouth
zh Like "j" with the tongue curled touching the palate
ch ch with the tongue curled touching the palate
sh sh with the tongue touching the palate
r Not like the English "r", but a sound made with the tongue touching the palate
z dz
c ts (always at the beginning of a word, unlike in English. In fact German "c" has the same sound before "e" and "i")
s s
a a as in "father"
o o as in "John" pronounced the British, not the American way
e er without the "r" on the end (again, the way British people pronounce it)
i ee
u oo, but with the lips more closely rounded, more like the German "u"
ü The French "u" or the German "ü". Not found in English. "Ü" is only written this way after "l" and "n". When it occurs after j, q, x and y, it is always written as "u" without the umlauts, as the other "u" never occurs after these letters
y y as in "Yes": replaces "i" and "ü" at the beginning of a syllable. If the sound is "i" on its own, then the syllable is written "yi" or "yu".
w w Replaces "u" at the beginning of a syllable. If the sound is "u" on its own, then the syllable is written "wu".
ao ao, as in "Macao"
an As in "Ann" spoken by people from Northern England
ang More like "ahng", never like the "ang" in "angry"
ei Like "ay" in "day"
en Like "an" when it is unstressed, also similar to "earn" when said by British people (without the "r" being pronounced, but not drawn out.
eng "erng"; similar, but not the same as the "ung" in "bung" when spoken by American speakers of English
ie The same as Yeah. Written "ye" on its own.
in / yin As in "in"
iong / yong yoong; like "young" when said by somebody from the north of England.
ong oong; like "bung" when said by somebody from the north of England, never like the "ong" in "song"
ou Like the "o" in "go"
un Like "under" spoken by a person from the north of England. On its own, this syllable is written as "wen" and pronounced accordingly
üe A combination of the "ü" sound and "e" as in "hen". Not found in English. Without an initial consonant, this syllable is written "yue"
ün A combination of the "ü" soung and n. Without an initial consonant, this syllable is written "yun"

In addition to the pinyin letters, there are also four tone marks to indicate which of the four tones is to be used. For example, the syllable "ma" may be written "mā", "má", "mǎ" or "mà"

Chinese characters are all monosyllabic and may exist on their own as individual words or be combined together to make new ones. This is reflected in Pinyin, for example the character "车" (chē) on its own means "vehicle". However, it is combined with another character to make "火车" (huǒchē), which is "train". In this instance "huǒchē" is written as one word and not two. Pinyin words are also capitalized in the European fashion if the words referred to are proper nouns. Chinese names in pinyin treat the surname and given name as two words, so the name of China's current president is written as Hu Jintao (Hu is the surname) and not Hu Jin Tao.