Tongyong Pinyin
Tongyong Pinyin is a romanization of Mandarin Chinese, or a way to write Mandarin in the Roman alphabet, that was invented in Taiwan. It was created by the Taiwanese to oppose Hanyu Pinyin, which is the official romanization of Mandarin in Mainland China, the UN, and most other international organizations, because many Taiwanese do not want to use a writing system created by the Chinese Communist Party. In 2002, it became the official romanization in Taiwan, even though no one was forced to use it. However, in 2009, Taiwan replaced Tongyong with Hanyu as the island's official romanization. While Taipei mostly uses Hanyu spelling today, many cities, particularly in southern Taiwan, still use many different romanizations, including Tongyong spelling, and it can still be seen in many places.
Tongyong Pinyin vs. Hanyu Pinyin
Most Tongyong spellings of Chinese syllables are the same as Hanyu spellings. However, one major difference is that Tongyong does not use letters 'x' and 'q', which are both used in Hanyu. Below is a chart that compares syllables in Hanyu to those in Tongyong. Below is not an exhaustive list, but a list that show major differences between the two systems.[1]
| Hanyu Pinyin | Tongyong Pinyin |
|---|---|
| xi | si |
| xiu | siou |
| sing | |
| xu | syu |
| xue | syue |
| xuan | syuan |
| xun | syun |
| xiong | syong |
| qi | ci |
| qiu | ciou |
| qing | cing |
| qu | cyu |
| que | cyue |
| quan | cyuan |
| qun | cyun |
| qiong | cyong |
| wen | wun |
| si | sih |
| ci | cih |
| zi | zih |
| shi | shih |
| chi | chih |
| zhi | jhih |
| zhao | jhao |
| zhong | jhong |
| jiu | jiou |
| gui | guei |
| feng | fong |
| weng | wong |
| shui | shuei |
| chui | chuei |
| zhui | jhuei |
| ri | rih |
| rui | ruei |
Below are examples of sentences written in Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin, and Tongyong Pinyin with English translations.
| Chinese characters | 你是中国人吗？ |
| Hanyu | Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ma? |
| Tongyong | Nǐ shìh Jhongguó rén ma? |
| English | Are you Chinese? |
| Chinese characters | 你在四川的时候，你喜欢吃什么菜？ |
| Hanyu | Nǐ zài Sìchuān de shíhòu, nǐ xǐhuān chī shénme cài? |
| Tongyong | Nǐ zài Sìhchuān de shíhhòu, nǐ sǐhuan chih shénme cài? |
| English | What food do you like to eat when you are in Sichuan? |
| Chinese characters | 回族人不可以喝酒吃猪肉。 |
| Hanyu | Huízú rén bù kěyǐ hējiǔ chī zhūròu. |
| Tongyong | Hueízú rén bù kěyǐ hejioǔ chih jhūròu. |
| English | Hui people cannot drink alcohol or eat pork. |
| Chinese characters | 瑞天文要去日本温泉。 |
| Hanyu | Ruì Tiānwén yào qù Rìběn wēnquán. |
| Tongyong | Rueì Tiānwún yào cyù Rìhběn wuncyuán. |
| English | Rui Tianwen is going to the Japanese hot springs. |
Pictures
- TRA Formosa Star and Cidu Station sign 20050818 night.jpg
- 高雄捷運小港站 (2330729579).jpg
- Kaohsiung RoadSign.svg
- Fusing Township Administration Building 20080601.jpg
Tongyong Pinyin Media
2011-03-20 高雄市鳳山區公所
- 楠梓車站.JPG
The sign for Nanzi Station formerly read "Nanzih Station"
- TRA Nanzih Station by billy1125 (1).jpg
The sign was later changed to read "Nanzi Station". The station serves Nanzih District, Kaohsiung.
- Kinmen - on the road from Shuitou to Jincheng - DSCF9397.JPG
Signs using Tongyong Pinyin (Jhaishan, Jhushan and so on) in Kinmen in 2012. 金 is misspelled as jing (instead of the correct jin) in one of the signs
- 臺南市學甲國中.JPG
Syuejia/SyueJia Junior High School, Syuejia District, Tainan, Taiwan (the spelling 'Syuejia' is derived from the Tongyong Pinyin Syuéjiǎ.)
- 台中捷運2018.01-wiki.jpg
Taichung Metro includes a station at Fongle Park (from Tongyong Pinyin Fonglè)
- Road name sign of Lane 782, Jyunsiao Road, Nanzih 20130301.jpg
Road sign in Nanzih District, Kaohsiung in which 軍校路 (Hanyu Pinyin: jūnxiào lù) is written as 'Jyunsiao Rd.', based on the Tongyong Pinyin form jyunsiào lù.
Sign at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan in which 新生大樓 (Hanyu Pinyin: xīnshēng dàlóu) is written as 'Sin Sheng Building', based on the Tongyong Pinyin form sinsheng dàlóu.
- China hanzi.png
The word for 'China', written in Hanyu Pinyin, Tongyong Pinyin, and Chinese characters (traditional and simplified)
References
- ↑ Tsai, Chih-Hao. "Zhuyin, Hanyu Pinyin, and Tongyong Pinyin Cross-Reference Table". research.chtsai.org. Retrieved 2018-09-04.