Mandarin Chinese pronunciation (pinyin)?
Hi, I have a number of questions about Mandarin pinyin pronunciation:
1. How do you know when "i" in pinyin should be pronounced "uh" or "ee" or "er" as in the English word "fur" (examples of usage in chi and shi)? I've heard it as all these ways and am very confused as to which is correct, keeping in mind I am aiming for the Beijing accent.
2. In the pinyin "e", how does one know if it is to be pronounced as the English sound "uh" or "eh"? I have heard "ye" as both "yeh" and "yuh".
3. Does it really make a huge difference if you give your "ch" and "zh" different forces of air, like I know some of the sounds have more air than others, like "p" and "b"...?
4. Which region's/city's accent is the most understood throughout the PRC?
5. "Eng"- pronounced like "ung" or "ang" in the english word "hang"? How do I know which is right? Like for example, cheng2 chi2
I know that if I heard the word before I should know how to spell it in pinyin the problem is I'm hearing so many different ways to say things! Please help! Xie Xie!!
So are there exceptions to the pinyin "e"? Such as in "de" in "wo de"? Isn't that pronounced "duh"?
Thanks for the info on pronunciation variations though...I'm sure it's similar to Spanish, with Castilians having a lisp and the Argentines with their pronunciation of "ll".
Tags: accent, argentines, beijing, english word, exceptions, fur, lisp, mandarin, many different ways, pinyin, prc, pronunciation, shi, variations, xie xie, zh
November 5th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
1. "i" is usually "ee". Chi, zhi and shi are the exceptions.
2. "yeh"
3. Not a huge difference.
4. Beijing’s is most likely to be understood by the most people. Many of the national radio and TV shows use that pronunciation.
5. "ung"
Now for the bad news, you’ll hear all the differences you mentioned…and many more, when you listen to speakers from different parts of the country. The same is true if you listen to speakers from different parts of the US (not to mention the UK) speaking English. Listen enough and you’ll be able to understand speakers from many (most???) of the regions but some will be more difficult than others. Some you’ll be able to understand by the context of what is being said. Not an easy task, but one I’m sure you can handle.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
1. No Chinese person will use that guide: It’s too ambiguous. All I do is ask the person if they know how to write the character, and tell them from there.
2. It’s "eh", except after c, ch, d, g, h, ji, k, l, m, r, sh, t, z, & zh sounds, where it’s the "uh" sound. The "be" & "pe", & "we" sounds don’t exist in Chinese. In "Beijing", the first syllable is "bei", not "be".
3. It does make a major difference, especially in Mandarin.
4. That’s hard to say. It depends on the accent you’re accustomed to or you’d have to listen carefully to the speaker.
5. Well, "eng" mostly sounds like "ung" of the word "hung" in English, except when it’s f, or w sounds as in "feng" or "weng", where it’s "ong", the sound is a little bit longer than saying "long", the Chinese word for "dragon".
November 5th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
When "i" is pronounce after these letter-b, p, zh, m, ch, sh, d, q, r, t, x, y, n, z, l, it should be pronounced "uh" or "ee" or "er." (this doesn’t really answer the question…is there a way of knowing how to differentiate the different pronounciations?)
Answer from Jennifer Zhu, Professional Chinese Teacher from eChineseLearning
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