Pinyin Wars Part VI: The Sound & the Fury

[Taiwanguy]

@Marco

@Taiwanguy

@Marco

It’s obvious that any form of Pinyin isn’t used here by the locals and that its use is an afterthought slapped on to be more international to attract foreign tourists.

Agreed. So they should use the internationally accepted way to romanize Chinese words. That is the most convenient thing for foreign tourists. Almost any Chinese travel guidebook or pocket guide to Taiwan will make use of Hanyu Pinyin in some way…because that’s what everyone uses.

Right, but Joe Schmoe isn’t familiar with the particularly different uses of the letters in Chinese romanisation as much as he would be with Japan cause Japanese romanisation at least follows the basic rules of roman letters. People can read maps of Japan quite easily without any training. Pinyin wasn’t made with foreign tourism in mind in 1958 China. So attempting to use it in a place where it wasn’t meant to be used is…wrong IMO.

There are only three countries that have Chinese as their official language. China, Taiwan, Singapore. The only reason why it’s an international standard is because they are so massive and influential.

I just feel like you are putting too much emphasis on romanization’s ability to convey accurate Chinese pronunciation without any training. I don’t think that’s the most important role. Standardization is far more important. There is no romanization that can adequately prompt accurate pronunciation from a non-trained individual. Just focus on using the version that is most widely accepted and used.