| By using English phonics, you can
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| | worked. Inevitably, most words were
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| eliminate many of the complications of
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| | grossly mispronounced.
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| learning to speak Mandarin. Native
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| | Other attempts were made to integrate a
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| English speakers no longer need to trudge
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| | Latin alphabet for the Mandarin language
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| through the old fashioned and ineffective
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| | during the 1920's and 30's, but most were
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| Wade-Giles method, or struggle with the
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| | unsuccessful. Finally, in 1985, the
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| current, but just as difficult Pinyin
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| | Pinyin Romanization system officially
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| Chinese to speak Mandarin. There's an
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| | replaced the Wade-Giles method. The
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| easier way! Words and phrases can be
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| | Chinese government's commitment to
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| sounded out exactly the same way we
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| | promote a standardized Latin alphabet for
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| learned to read and speak English in
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| | westerner and the country's minorities
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| grade school.
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| | promoted the adoption of Pinyin
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| The Romanization of Chinese Characters
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| | Putonghua, and it is used extensively
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| Mandarin Pinyin is called Putonghua, or
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| | throughout the country.
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| The Common Language, and is widely used
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| | Unfortunately, native English speakers
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| throughout China. Its four tones, level,
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| | who study Mandarin quickly discover that
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| rising, falling, and high rising,
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| | many of the vowels and consonants used in
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| distinguish many words and syllables with
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| | Pinyin are pronounced differently than
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| the same consonants and vowels but with
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| | their English counterparts. This means
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| different meanings. It deciphers the
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| | that English speakers, who have been
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| Chinese characters and symbols into a
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| | trained since primary school to sound out
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| Romanized alphabet, eliminating the
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| | words phonetically, first need to learn
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| abstract strokes completely
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| | Pinyin in order to speak correctly and
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| unrecognizable to foreigners.
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| | clearly in Chinese.
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| Prior to the use of Pinyin, westerners
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| | A Better Way
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| depended upon the Wade-Giles Romanization
| |
| | The good news is that there is an easier
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| system that was initially invented to
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| | and faster way of learning Mandarin.
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| simplify Chinese characters into their
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| | Native English speakers can by-pass
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| English counterparts. British scholar
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| | Pinyin and immediately concentrate on
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| Sir Thomas Francis Wade created the
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| | reading and speaking Chinese by using the
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| method, and it was later modified by
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| | familiar English phonics system. For
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| Herbert Allen Giles in 1912, and it
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| | example, the Chinese word for 'next',
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| became the preferred transliteration
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| | when written in Pinyin is: xi ay i ge.
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| method among scholars. But what it truly
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| | Using English phonetics, you would say:
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| gave the western world was a systematic
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| | shee-ah ee guh. Congratulations! You
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| and consistent method of butchering the
| |
| | have just pronounced the word correctly!
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| Chinese language through
| |
| | So as you can see, if you are searching
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| mispronunciations for more than a half
| |
| | for a simple way to speak Chinese
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| century. Why did it fail so miserably?
| |
| | effectively, the English phonetic system
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| Learners of Mandarin relied upon the
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| | makes the learning process an easily
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| pronunciation guide, but were seldom
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| | attainable goal.
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| educated properly on how the system
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|
