Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters
| Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 文白異讀 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 文白异读 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | wénbái yìdú |
| IPA | [u̯ə̌npǎi̯ îtǔ] |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | màhn-baahk yih-duhk |
| Jyutping | man4-baak6 ji6-duk6 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | bûn-pe̍k ī-tho̍k |
| Tâi-lô | bûn-pi̍k ī-tho̍k |
Differing literary and colloquial readings (simplified Chinese: 文白异读; traditional Chinese: 文白異讀; pinyin: wénbái yìdú) of certain Chinese characters are common doublets in many Chinese varieties and the reading distinctions for certain phonetic features often typify a dialect group. Literary readings (文读; 文讀; wéndú) are usually used in formal loan words or names, when reading aloud and in formal settings, while colloquial readings (白读; 白讀; báidú) are usually used in vernacular speech.
For a given Chinese variety, colloquial readings typically reflect native phonology, while literary readings typically originate from other Chinese varieties, typically more prestigious varieties. Colloquial readings are usually older, resembling the sound systems described by old rime dictionaries such as Guangyun. Literary readings are closer to the phonology of newer sound systems. Many literary readings are the result of Mandarin influence in Ming and Qing.
Literary readings are usually used in formal settings because past prestigious varieties were usually used in formal education and discourse. Although the phonology of the Chinese variety in which this occurred did not entirely match that of the prestige variety when in formal settings, they tended to evolve toward the prestige variety. Also, neologisms usually use the pronunciation of prestigious varieties. Colloquial readings are usually used in informal settings because their usage in formal settings has been supplanted by the readings of the prestige varieties.
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