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".

Chinese Pinyin relating to seasons or holidays?

I need this pinyin translated.
1) ni jway shi wa na ga chee jyeh
2) She-me she hao shin yue suh rue
3) ni jway shi wan na ga je rue

I don't know the exact pinyin spelling so I posted how I thought they sounded, let me know if you would like me to post the recording here.
Thank you Aidant, I think thats right.
Thanks alot.

how do you say stepmom in pinyin chinese?

i really need to know how you say stepmom in pinyin for my homework. any help?

How can I input Romanized Chinese (Pinyin) with Microsoft word on Windows for free?

I want to be able to type in Pinyin without having to use alt+number combinations all the time. I need an easier way to input letters with the tone marks on them.

Need free program that allows me to type pinyin & change into traditional Chinese characters?

I am studying traditional Mandarin in school. I need a free program that I can download that will allow me to type in pinyin and then it will convert into traditional Chinese characters...Mandarin

Thank you.

China do they write in pinyin or mandarin chinese characters?

i m learning mandarin right now and i want to know whether people in China write in pinyin or actual mandarin chinese characters?

How do I write this in chinese simplified with pinyin?

Ok I want to know how to write these words in chinese simplified.
I want the pinyin as well please (:

Ice Cream
Play Piano
Go shopping
Chat with friends

What is the word in Chinese Mandarin Pinyin for “vegetarian vow” or similar? Also “humanistic buddhism”?

I read that there is a special word for the vegetarian religion or the vegetarian vow in Chinese Buddhism. But the book did not say what the word was. I am trying to find a Buddhist sect that has a special vegetarian vow and I think if I had the word in Pinyin it would make searching easier. Also I wondered if there is a Chinese word for the branch of Buddhism called "humanistic Buddhism". Thanks!

where can i find a pinyin or chinese to english translater?

because theres some really good chinese songs that are either already translated into pinyin or chinese but i really want to know what it means and i dont understand pinyin or chinese!

I am using Microsoft Vista. How can I type traditional Chinese characters using pinyin?

I recently got a computer with Vista installed on it. I want to type traditional Chinese characters (Taiwan) using pinyin as the input method, however, pinyin is not one of the options listed. I can type simplified Chinese using pinyin (Microsoft IME pinyin). When I had XP, this option was also provided for traditional characters, but I don't see it for Vista.

Do I need a download of somekind so I can type traditional characters using pinyin? Is there something that I should do that I am not doing?