The other day I finally heard a radio reporter say Beijing with a “j” sound in the middle instead of a “zh” sound. Believe it or not, that was correct. It’s Beijing, not Beizhing; or at least, that’s how it’s spoken right there in Beijing. The Chinese Pinyin (Romanized phonetic) alphabet uses both “j” and “zh;” and where it uses “j,” it indicates the same sound as the usual English “j” sound.
So there’s something else to keep score on as you watch the Olympics: how well do the commentators get it?
The following might also be of interest, as we are likely to encounter more Chinese this month than most of us ever have. The Pinyin character “q” is pronounced much like “ch,” though not exactly the same. It’s a lighter version, with the tongue touching the roof of the mouth closer to the front, just behind the teeth. And “x” is pronounced like “sh,” except with the tongue raised way in the back of the mouth instead of at the front.
If you pronounce “q” like “ch,” and “x” like “sh,” you may not be exactly right, but you’ll be closer than most English speakers.
Last point in this brief Chinese lesson (this is just about all I know anyway): you’re probably aware that Chinese is a tonal language: each syllable has a certain pitch or inflection associated with it. Mandarin Chinese, the dialect of Beijing, uses four tones, making it the beautifully melodic language that it is.
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Oh my gosh, mispronouncing that j in Beijing drives me up the wall.
It’s funny how there are a few things out there, Tom, for which you and I think remarkably alike. Actually, it’s kinda scary, given our intractable disagreements in other areas. ; )
What was that other obscurity that we both recognized a few months ago?
Oh, I remember now, it was Pocari Sweat.