[Zorander]

For those of us who have been educated on spelling/reading Hanyu Pinyin, you will have noticed how Mandarin words are (incorrectly but understandably) always mispronounced on English-speaking media.

I was wondering though, if one of us were to be put in a public-speaking position such as a reporter or broadcaster (English-speaking, of course), and come across such words (Beijing, for example), would you read the word as 'Beijing' (English way) or as 'Pei-ching' (Pinyin way)?

Curious.

 

[Assorted]

Pbegg-king is Cantonese, and Bei-Jing is Mandarin. Hanyu pinyin is also 'beijing'.

Tone is important too. Bei is read B (higher tone) - e (lower tone) - i (ascending tone), Jing (natural) [Edit: ty koike]. It is pronounced in two syllables. My mandarin is quite lousy, much different from iambic pentameter or Japanese tonality.

 

[LawnGnome]

Yeah, depends whether you are talking about Mandarin, or Cantonese. Since Chinese isn't a language.

Personally, in learning Mandarin, many of the sounds needed are completely unnatural for me as an English speaker.

 

[koike]

assorted got it right

Beijing is in hanyu pinyin.
you dont have to stress the word 'jing' as its the 1st tonal notation.
pronouncing it as 'ching' would be overdoing it and wont sound natural.

 

[Zorander]

Ah sorry. I meant Chinese as in Mandarin really.

My original question is really to find out how Mandarin-educated people would pronounce a Mandarin word (spelled in Pinyin). I simply chose Beijing as an example only. Tonal correctness would be taking correctness further but is not what I am stressing at here, just the pronunciation part. Are you going to pronounce the words the English way or as you are taught according to Hanyu Pinyin, in front of your audience as a speaker/broadcaster/presenter/etc from an English-speaking media company?

Edit: Koike, seeing that you are from Singapore (a Chinese-majority country), how do the English-based media do it there? I was a secondary school student there up to my 'O's but I never actually paid attention back then.

 

[Assorted]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah sorry. I meant Chinese as in Mandarin really. My original question is really to find out how Mandarin-educated people would pronounce a Mandarin word (spelled in Pinyin). I simply chose Beijing as an example only. Tonal correctness would be taking correctness further but is not what I am stressing at here, just the pronunciation part. Are you going to pronounce the words the English way or as you are taught according to Hanyu Pinyin, in front of your audience as a speaker/broadcaster/presenter/etc from an English-speaking media company?

I totally understand what you mean.

I try to pronounce it correctly. Saying "bei jing" without correct tones is a testimony to assimilated language. Especially in social debate class, I would never say Mao-zetong. I would take the time to say the correct tones, same as with German and French words.

 

[K2Grey]

Beijing is pronounced in a similar way both in Mandarin and in the way it is usually said in English. If I say Beijing in normal conversation I would say it in Mandarin but if I was a newscaster I would use the normal English way.

 

[Schalldampfer]

I'm learning Mandarin, but... I think Beijing is a good estimate of what it actually is supposed to sound like. But what do I know, I'm not native.

 

[Assorted]

It does sound similar, but here are the differences.

1) tone, like I said before. A lot of people tend to read it like Bèi Jing, in a slightly descending tone, which is not correct.

2) pronunciation of actual letters. The "western" accent emphasizes the B and J. In Mandarin, 'äï' takes more time. The J in jing, sounds less like "juh-ing;" it is closer to zjing.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2Grey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Beijing is pronounced in a similar way both in Mandarin and in the way it is usually said in English.

Eh? Pretty sure there is a heap of difference between how 'B' and 'P' sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2Grey /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I say Beijing in normal conversation I would say it in Mandarin but if I was a newscaster I would use the normal English way.

Thanks for the input.

 

[saint.panda]

If you have Windows, you can have Powerword translate and spell everything out for you as you hover your mouse above certain wods (works English-Chinese or Chinese-English). Best Windows tool that Mac doesn't have.

 

[amphead]

This isn't on topic exactly but check out this site.
http://www.byki.com/

 

[aaron-xp]

The mandarin pronunciations of a word are usually rather different from the English one.

Quote:

It does sound similar, but here are the differences. 1) tone, like I said before. A lot of people tend to read it like Bèi Jing, in a slightly descending tone, which is not correct. 2) pronunciation of actual letters. The "western" accent emphasizes the B and J. In Mandarin, 'äï' takes more time. The J in jing, sounds less like "juh-ing;" it is closer to zjing.

Assorted is spot on once more.

 

[lingoman]

We have an English channel here in China and the city names are pronounced exactly same as they are on Western TV channels.

Leave "Beijing" aside as there is already enough debate on it here. Let's take "Shanghai" as a good example. "Shanghai" is the official PinYin version for the city 上海, and it shall read something more like "Sun Hai" in Chinese Mandarin (or PinYin). But when this is read by an English-speaking reporter or broadcaster, even in a Chinese media, it's pronounced exactly how you will read it.

The conclusion from the professional Mandarin linguist: the PinYin words are to be read the "English-way" if it's on an English media, despite the actually PinYin version may sound a bit different by a Chinese reader.

 

[wink]

Let's face it, folks..... If Jackie Chan don't speak it, it don't count........