Modern Hanyu Pinyin
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The Communist government created a commission in late 1949 to address the question of Romanization. It was understood that scientific and technical communication around the world required a reliable system of rendering Chinese, or else China would be marginalized by world technologies. The group of scholars included those who had created Latinxua Sinwenz and members of the Gwoyeu Ramantzyh movement. All were accomplished linguists. The result of this work - which took well over a decade to complete - is Hanyu Pinyin. The work required some delicate political and strategic decision-making. It was decided, for example, to base Pinyin on Beijing pronunciation and the Mandarin language. It would indicate all tones, and use Latin characters, but not to supplant written Chinese. Rather, it would be a complement. Recommendations on simplifying Chinese characters were also developed, but separate from the creation of Pinyin. Care was taken to classify this excursion into foreign writing as "patriotic."
A first draft of the committee's work came out in 1956 and was ratified at the First People's National Congress, Session Five, in 1958. Pinyin was then employed in primary schools to expand literacy and to teach non-speakers of Mandarin how Mandarin is pronounced.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1972 and ensuing years) no forward progress was made on linguistic reform, due in large measure to the fear of persecution of anyone seen as "pro-foreign." Pinyin disappeared entirely from government posters, propaganda and newspapers.
Eventually a revised and final form of Pinyin emerged, based on Beijing dialect and indicating tones through Latin letters and diacritics. It is Mandarin-specific. It employs the tripartite system invented centuries earlier, recording the "initial sound," the "final sound," and the "suprasegmental tone." ("Suprasegmental" means that the feature in question -- tone, pitch, stress, aspiration, vowel extension or nasalization -- extends over more than one neighboring language segments.) The State Council approved the final version in 1978. In 1982 it became the ISO standard for the Romanization of written Chinese. Since 2001, Pinyin is the legally required form of Romanization.
For English-speakers, Pinyin offers many benefits. The vowels are pronounced like the vowels in European languages, and most of the consonants are as well. Certain consonants have special rules, however, and must be learned: Letters to beware of are x, q, j, c, zh, ch, sh and z (sometimes -i) as well as unvoiced d, b, and g.
The order of the alphabet comes from is derived from Zhuyin Fuhao ("bo-po-mo-fo") and is as follows: b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s. The spaces a given to show clusters of phonetically similar letters.
In Pinyin, the initial sound is almost always a consonant. The final sound is either a vowel, a "medial" (described as a semi-vowel coming before a vowel), the "nucleus" vowel, and a coda (terminal vowel or consonant.
Table 1: Front Sounds in Mandarin Initials
Table 2: Middle Sounds in Mandarin Initials
Table 3: Back Sounds in Mandarin Initials
In Mandarin (and hence in Pinyin), "n" and "ng" are the only final consonants (other than the /r/ grammatical suffix). Rarely another final consonant will be seen, but they are loan words from non-Mandarin languages or vestiges of earlier systems of Romanization.
Table 4: Finals in Mandarin
Note that /?r/ is "er" in Pinyin, but Pinyin just adds an /r/ to other finals. Note also that 2 "ü" is rendered as "u" when preceded by j, q, x, or y. Likewise, "uo" is spelled "o" when following b, p, m, or f.
The Communist government created a commission in late 1949 to address the question of Romanization. It was understood that scientific and technical communication around the world required a reliable system of rendering Chinese, or else China would be marginalized by world technologies. The group of scholars included those who had created Latinxua Sinwenz and members of the Gwoyeu Ramantzyh movement. All were accomplished linguists. The result of this work - which took well over a decade to complete - is Hanyu Pinyin. The work required some delicate political and strategic decision-making. It was decided, for example, to base Pinyin on Beijing pronunciation and the Mandarin language. It would indicate all tones, and use Latin characters, but not to supplant written Chinese. Rather, it would be a complement. Recommendations on simplifying Chinese characters were also developed, but separate from the creation of Pinyin. Care was taken to classify this excursion into foreign writing as "patriotic."
A first draft of the committee's work came out in 1956 and was ratified at the First People's National Congress, Session Five, in 1958. Pinyin was then employed in primary schools to expand literacy and to teach non-speakers of Mandarin how Mandarin is pronounced.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1972 and ensuing years) no forward progress was made on linguistic reform, due in large measure to the fear of persecution of anyone seen as "pro-foreign." Pinyin disappeared entirely from government posters, propaganda and newspapers.
Eventually a revised and final form of Pinyin emerged, based on Beijing dialect and indicating tones through Latin letters and diacritics. It is Mandarin-specific. It employs the tripartite system invented centuries earlier, recording the "initial sound," the "final sound," and the "suprasegmental tone." ("Suprasegmental" means that the feature in question -- tone, pitch, stress, aspiration, vowel extension or nasalization -- extends over more than one neighboring language segments.) The State Council approved the final version in 1978. In 1982 it became the ISO standard for the Romanization of written Chinese. Since 2001, Pinyin is the legally required form of Romanization.
Features of Hanyu Pinyin
Hanyu 漢語 is one way of Saying "Chinese." "Pinyin" literally means "spell sound."For English-speakers, Pinyin offers many benefits. The vowels are pronounced like the vowels in European languages, and most of the consonants are as well. Certain consonants have special rules, however, and must be learned: Letters to beware of are x, q, j, c, zh, ch, sh and z (sometimes -i) as well as unvoiced d, b, and g.
The order of the alphabet comes from is derived from Zhuyin Fuhao ("bo-po-mo-fo") and is as follows: b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s. The spaces a given to show clusters of phonetically similar letters.
In Pinyin, the initial sound is almost always a consonant. The final sound is either a vowel, a "medial" (described as a semi-vowel coming before a vowel), the "nucleus" vowel, and a coda (terminal vowel or consonant.
Initials
The three tables below represent the phonetic pronunciation of initial syllables, using the International Phonetic Alphabet and displaying the pinyin letter below it. The first table covers labial and labio-dental sounds. The second describes alveolar and palatal sounds, and the third, sounds made in the rear of the Vocal Tract (Velar and Glottal). When the same letter appears for more than one phoneme, it means they are alternative forms of pronunciation, based on native accent. "W" and "Y" are additions to Pinyin from the older systems. They can be either initials or finals, and may be pronounced either as /w/ and /j/ or as /u/ and /i/ respectively.Table 1: Front Sounds in Mandarin Initials
Table 2: Middle Sounds in Mandarin Initials
Table 3: Back Sounds in Mandarin Initials
Finals
The table below reproduces the final vowel or medial sounds. As in the tables above, the first line of each cell in the table is the IPA phoneme, and the second line is the pinyin letter for a "standalone" sound (when there is no initial sound coming ahead of it.) A third line has been added for when the sound is preceded by an initial sound (from the table above). Sometimes a final will be modified by a final, /r/ for grammatical purposes.. That is not reflected in the table.In Mandarin (and hence in Pinyin), "n" and "ng" are the only final consonants (other than the /r/ grammatical suffix). Rarely another final consonant will be seen, but they are loan words from non-Mandarin languages or vestiges of earlier systems of Romanization.
Table 4: Finals in Mandarin
Note that /?r/ is "er" in Pinyin, but Pinyin just adds an /r/ to other finals. Note also that 2 "ü" is rendered as "u" when preceded by j, q, x, or y. Likewise, "uo" is spelled "o" when following b, p, m, or f.
