Tending The Wind

An Introduction to Veterinary Holistic Medicine

Pinyin Pronounciation

Many clients and colleagues ask me how to pronounce the Chinese herbs I prescribe (as do our staff members when fumbling over names like Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang while invoicing clients), so what follows is a discussion of the current system of romanization for Chinese characters – Hanyu Pinyin.

In order for Westerners to pronounce and discuss Chinese characters, a system of romanization is necessary. In this process, the sound of a character is converted into roman letters, to approximate how that character is spoken in Chinese. Mandarin is the dialect chosen as the pronunciation standard. Over the years, several romanization systems have emerged. The most recent system, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1977 and the International Organization for Standardization in 1979, is called pinyin (used in China since 1958). This is the system used in this book. It is important to note, however, that the Wade-Giles system (created in 1859) is still used in a vast number of publications; the Wade-Giles spelling Tao (instead of the pinyin Dào) is one example of this system.

In Mandarin, every word also contains four possible tones, which are approximated using accent marks over certain vowels in the word. Using the vowel “e” as an example:

First Tone
Second Tone
Third Tone
Fourth Tone

ē (flat tone: begins high and is held steady)
é (crescendo: begins in the midrange and rises)
ě (decrescendo-crescendo: begins lower middle range, drops before rising)
è (decrescendo: begins high and drops down sharply)

Pinyin pronunciation is taught in terms of initials and finals rather than consonants and vowels. An initial is the first consonant beginning a word. A final is any combination of vowels and consonants in the rest of the word. Several of the English pronunciations are only approximate as there is no real equivalent to the spoken Chinese sound. The pinyin initials and finals are as follows (from the Chinese herbal formulary Formulas & Strategies by Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet, Eastland Press Inc. 1990):
Initials (Consonants):

b
c
ch
d
f
g
h
j
k
l
m
n
p
q
r
s
sh
t
w
x
y
z
zh

as in “obstinate”
as in “its”
as in “chair” with the tongue on the palate
as in English, but not as voiced
as in English
as in English, but not as voiced
between “how” and “chutzpah”
as in English, but with the tip of the tongue on the lower teeth
as in English, but more strongly aspirated
as in English
as in English
as in English
as in English, but more strongly aspirated
as in “chair”, but with the tip of the tongue on the lower teeth
as in “rapid”, but with the tongue on the palate
as in English
as in English, but with the tongue on the palate
as in English, but more strongly aspirated
as in English, but softer
as in “she”, but with the tip of the tongue on the lower teeth
as in English, but softer
as in “pads”
as in “jar”, but with the tongue on the palate

Finals (Vowels and Vowel/Consonant combinations):

a
ai
an
ang
ao
e
ei
en
eng
er
i
ing
iu
o
ong
ou
u
ua
uai
uan
uang
ui
un
uo

as in “father”
as in “rye”
as in “on”
as in the German “angst”
as in “cow”, but less fused
as in “sofa”
as in “bay”
as in “fun”
as in “lung”
as in “far”
as in “be” unless after a c-, ch-, s-, sh-, z-, or zh- when it sounds like “burr”
as in “ring”
as in “yo-yo”
as in “maudlin” (other sources: begin the sound as "book" and end in "so")
as in “hung” (other sources: as in "owe" with ng added at the end)
as in “mow”, but less fused
as in “moon” unless after a j-, q-, x-, l-, n- when it sounds like “knew”
as in “guava”
as in “quiet”
as in “quantity”
as in “quantity”, but with a guttural ending
as in “quay”, but slightly shorter
between “done” and “twin” unless after a j-, q-, x-, y-, l-, n- when it’s like “june”
as in “war”

Diphthongs that are pronounced as expected from their respective vowels are not listed.

See http://www.pinyinpractice.com/history.htm for more information on pinyin; click the "More" button and select "Speaking Chinese" to practice the sounds (choose Lessons, then Pinyin: The Sounds).

See http://zhongwen.com/ for information on written Chinese characters, their genealogy, and their meaning. As an example, pīnyīn: hand together (put together, spell) + speak (sound) = join together sounds (phoneticize, spell, transliteration).

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For information on Dr. Chattigre's current location and contact information, see www.cascadesummitvets.com.