大家好,
I have listened to various Chinese speakers and read different books and each one pronounces the "x" differently. For example in the words:
喜歡, 謝謝, 一下兒
Some people pronounce the sound more similar to an "s", while for others it resembles an "sh" sound. I would like to know if there is a "standard" pronunciation, or if it is simply a matter of regional dialects. For example is it pronounced differently in Taiwan? Beijing? Shanghai?
謝謝你們!
Sounds in chinese (all dialects) are basically composed of combinations of an initial, vowel and possibly a final.
The system used in Mainland China and Taiwan is a little different but the basic definition is the same since "mandarin" is what we have in common, without worrying about the regional intricacies for vocab, etc etc.
In Mainland China, they use Pinyin.
In Taiwan, they use Bo Po Mo Fo.
These systems define all the initials, vowels and finals of Mandarin Chinese.
As a foreign born, i learned Bo Po Mo Fo, but later I learned Pinyin because i use a english language keyboard, Pinyin is more friendly to type since it uses ABC, whereas Taiwan uses a totally different Script and you gotta memorize those and they have no relation to chinese except to help kids pronounce chinese characters. Children books have those characters beside each chinese character... (similar to the "kana" written beside a Kanji to help Japanese identify a kanji). Those bo po mo character keyboards cost a fortune compared to my ABC keyboard. Plus being english speaker, i relate better using Pinyin than i can with BPMF.
Why did Taiwan have to be so complicated !? No idea ...
The "X" character you refer to corresponds in Pinyin to a character that looks like "T" using Taiwan's BO PO MO FO, but they are the same "initial" and no matter which side of the Taiwan strait you're standing, the CDs and Tapes for learning this initial is pronounced pretty much the same way like the "Sh" in Sh*t or "Sh" to tell everyone to be quiet.
Why did Mainland China use "X" ? As an english speaker, it made no sense to me (Xylophone sounds nothing like the way it should sound and anglophones batter "sounds" like Xiao terribly)... until i realized the letter "S" was already taken to represent a very complicated Mandarin Chinese initial that deserves more attention than the easier "X" sound.
The "S" was already used to represent the voiced and voiceless (The rolling and unrolling tongue):
Pinyin: Z C S vs ZH CH SH
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The answer to does Taiwan and China pronounce this initial the same ?
This is too complicated of a question. But to give you a simple answer, in general, those who pronounce it correctly will pronounce it 99% the same no matter which side of the Taiwan strait you are (especially good teachers in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and even Hong Kong, or anywhere in the chinese world) ... not just for this initial but for all initials, vowels and finals.
Those who don't are those who have a bias to their own dialect or regional accent ... which we can't do anything about as they really are "trying" their best to pronounce it right. As a learner, you have two choices: you can imitate them (then be perceived as mocking them), or try your best to say it right and learn it properly.
But in general, it should sound like the initial of "SHape" when pronounced in English, or "SHanghai" when pronounced in English.
The "Sh" sound that everyone is talking about.
