Tongyong Pinyin was the official romanization of Mandarin in Taiwan between 2002 and 2008. The system was unofficially used between 2000 and 2002, when a new romanization system for Taiwan was being evaluated for adoption. Taiwan's Ministry of Education approved the system in 2002,[1][2] but its use was optional.
Tongyong Pinyin 通用拼音; Tong-yòng Pin-yin | |
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Script type | Alphabet
romanization |
Creator | Taiwan Ministry of Education |
Time period | Republic of China (2002–2009) |
Direction | Left-to-right |
Languages | Taiwanese Mandarin |
Related scripts | |
Child systems | Daī-ghî tōng-iōng pīng-im (Taiwanese Hokkien) |
IETF language tag: zh-Latn-tongyong | |
Tongyong Pinyin | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 通用拼音 | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | General-use sound spelling | ||||||||||||
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Since 1 January 2009, the Ministry of Education began promoting Hanyu Pinyin. Local governments would not be able to get financial aid from the central government if they used Tongyong Pinyin-derived romanizations.[3][4] After this policy change, Tongyong Pinyin has been used for the transliteration of some place names and personal names in Taiwan (Republic of China).[5] Some of the romanized names of the districts, subway stations[6] and streets[7][8] in Kaohsiung,[9] Tainan,[10] Taichung,[11][12] Yunlin County[13] and other places[14][15][16] are derived from Tongyong Pinyin – for example, Cijin District (旗津區, Cíjin Cyu).[17]
The impetus behind the invention of Tongyong Pinyin came from the need for a standardized romanization system. For decades, the island had employed various systems, usually simplifications or adaptations of Wade–Giles.
Zhuyin, a standard phonetic system for language education in Taiwan's schools, does not use the Latin alphabet.
Tongyong Pinyin was introduced in 1998 by Yu Bor-chuan to preserve the strengths of Hanyu Pinyin while eliminating some of the pronunciation difficulties Hanyu presents to international readers, such as difficulties with the letters q and x. Yu's system was subsequently revised.
Discussion and adoption of Tongyong Pinyin, like many other initiatives in Taiwan, quickly acquired a partisan tone turning on issues of Chinese versus Taiwanese identity.[18] Officials who identified most strongly with the nation itself, such as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its allied parties, saw no reason to adopt Hanyu Pinyin just because mainland China and the UN had. If Tongyong Pinyin more adequately met the nation's needs, they saw this as ample justification for Taiwan to adopt it.[19] Officials who identified more strongly with Chinese culture, such as the Kuomintang (KMT), saw no reason to introduce a new system unique to Taiwan if Hanyu Pinyin had already gained international acceptance. Each side accused the other of basing its preference on anti-China or pro-China sentiment rather than an objective discussion of community goals.[20]
In early October 2000, the Mandarin Commission of the Ministry of Education proposed to use Tongyong Pinyin as the national standard. Education Minister Ovid Tzeng submitted a draft of the Taiwanese romanization in late October to the Executive Yuan, but the proposal was rejected. In November 2000, Tzeng unsuccessfully suggested that the government adopt Hanyu Pinyin with some modifications for local dialects. On 10 July 2002, Taiwan's Ministry of Education held a meeting for 27 members. Only 13 attended. Two left early, and since the chairman could not vote, the bill for using Tongyong Pinyin was passed with 10 votes.[1]
In August 2002, the government adopted Tongyong Pinyin by an administrative order that local governments had the authority to override within their jurisdiction. In October 2007, with the DPP administration still in power, it was announced that Taiwan would standardize the English transliterations of its Chinese Mandarin place names by the end of the year, after years of confusion from multiple spellings, by using the locally developed Tongyong Pinyin.[21]
In 2008, the Kuomintang won both the legislative and presidential elections. In September 2008, it was announced that Tongyong Pinyin would be replaced by Hanyu Pinyin as Taiwan's standard, at the end of the year. Since 1 January 2009, Hanyu Pinyin has been an official romanization system in Taiwan.[3][4]
On 24 August 2020, the Taichung City Council decided to use Tongyong Pinyin in the translated names of the stations on the Green line (Taichung Metro).[12]
Tongyong Pinyin was the official romanization system in Taiwan, but its use was voluntary.[22] The romanization system that one encounters in Taiwan varies according to the government authority that administers the facility. Street signs in most areas use Tongyong Pinyin,[citation needed] including the cities of Kaohsiung, Tainan, and surrounding counties. A contrast could be seen in the two entities that now make up the municipality of Taichung–Taichung County used Tongyong Pinyin while Taichung City has used Hanyu Pinyin since at least 2004. Then-mayor Ma Ying-jeou remained committed to using Hanyu Pinyin as the Romanization standard for Taipei.[23] Taipei County (now New Taipei City) used Tongyong Pinyin, but in Taipei Metro stations, Tongyong Pinyin was given in parentheses after Hanyu Pinyin. Modified Wade–Giles spellings are popularly used for many proper names, especially personal names and businesses.
The political impasse prevented Ministry of Education from being able to replace Zhuyin in teaching pronunciation in elementary school. Zhuyin is widely used to teach Mandarin pronunciation to schoolchildren. Children's books published in Taiwan typically display Zhuyin characters next to Chinese characters in the text.
On 17 September 2008, the Ministry of Education announced that the government standard for romanization would be switched to Hanyu Pinyin nationwide, effective 1 January 2009.[3][4] However, people in Taiwan can freely choose their foreign language names. So although Tongyong Pinyin was effectively scrapped as the romanization standard of Taiwan's central government, many today choose a romanized form of their Chinese character name that is created based on the Tongyong Pinyin, Wade–Giles, or Yale romanization systems.[24]
Today, districts of Kaohsiung are named by Tongyong. Districts of Tainan are mostly named by Tongyong with exceptions such as Xinying.
The Tongyong Pinyin system also exists in a Taiwanese Hokkien phonetic symbol version, Daighi tongiong pingim, which lacks f but adds bh. However, in 2006, the Ministry of Education rejected the use of Daighi tongiong pingim for Taiwanese Hokkien and preferred the Taiwanese Romanization System.[25]
Some notable features of Tongyong Pinyin are:
If tone is ignored, 19.47% of Tongyong Pinyin syllables are spelled differently to those of Hanyu Pinyin. The difference widens when syllables are measured according to average frequency of use in everyday life to a 48.84% difference in spellings.[26] In two cases (si and ci) the same Latin spelling denotes different syllables depending on the transcription system.
The prevalence of Hanyu Pinyin as an established system weighs at least as heavily on the debate over Tongyong Pinyin as any feature of the system itself. There are many arguments for the use of each. Some factors cited in support of Tongyong Pinyin include the following.
Some argue against the system. The reasons they cite include:
The differences between Tongyong Pinyin and Hanyu Pinyin[29] are relatively straightforward:
IPA | a | ɔ | ɛ | ɤ | ai | ei | au | ou | an | ən | aŋ | əŋ | ʊŋ | aɹ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | a | o | ê | e | ai | ei | ao | ou | an | en | ang | eng | ong | er |
Tongyong Pinyin | ||||||||||||||
Wade–Giles | eh | ê/o | ên | êng | ung | êrh | ||||||||
Bopomofo | ㄚ | ㄛ | ㄝ | ㄜ | ㄞ | ㄟ | ㄠ | ㄡ | ㄢ | ㄣ | ㄤ | ㄥ | ㄨㄥ | ㄦ |
example | 阿 | 喔 | 誒 | 俄 | 艾 | 黑 | 凹 | 偶 | 安 | 恩 | 昂 | 冷 | 中 | 二 |
IPA | i | je | jou | jɛn | in | iŋ | jʊŋ | u | wo | wei | wən | wəŋ | y | ɥe | ɥɛn | yn |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | yi | ye | you | yan | yin | ying | yong | wu | wo/o | wei | wen | weng | yu | yue | yuan | yun |
Tongyong Pinyin | wun | wong | ||||||||||||||
Wade–Giles | i/yi | yeh | yu | yen | yung | wên | wêng | yü | yüeh | yüan | yün | |||||
Bopomofo | ㄧ | ㄧㄝ | ㄧㄡ | ㄧㄢ | ㄧㄣ | ㄧㄥ | ㄩㄥ | ㄨ | ㄨㄛ/ㄛ | ㄨㄟ | ㄨㄣ | ㄨㄥ | ㄩ | ㄩㄝ | ㄩㄢ | ㄩㄣ |
example | 一 | 也 | 又 | 言 | 音 | 英 | 用 | 五 | 我 | 位 | 文 | 翁 | 玉 | 月 | 元 | 雲 |
IPA | p | pʰ | m | fəŋ | tjou | twei | twən | tʰɤ | ny | ly | kɤ | kʰɤ | xɤ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | b | p | m | feng | diu | dui | dun | te | nü | lü | ge | ke | he |
Tongyong Pinyin | fong | diou | duei | nyu | lyu | ||||||||
Wade–Giles | p | pʻ | fêng | tiu | tui | tun | tʻê | nü | lü | ko | kʻo | ho | |
Bopomofo | ㄅ | ㄆ | ㄇ | ㄈㄥ | ㄉㄧㄡ | ㄉㄨㄟ | ㄉㄨㄣ | ㄊㄜ | ㄋㄩ | ㄌㄩ | ㄍㄜ | ㄎㄜ | ㄏㄜ |
example | 玻 | 婆 | 末 | 封 | 丟 | 兌 | 頓 | 特 | 女 | 旅 | 歌 | 可 | 何 |
IPA | tɕjɛn | tɕjʊŋ | tɕʰin | ɕɥɛn | ʈʂɤ | ʈʂɨ | ʈʂʰɤ | ʈʂʰɨ | ʂɤ | ʂɨ | ɻɤ | ɻɨ | tsɤ | tswo | tsɨ | tsʰɤ | tsʰɨ | sɤ | sɨ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | jian | jiong | qin | xuan | zhe | zhi | che | chi | she | shi | re | ri | ze | zuo | zi | ce | ci | se | si |
Tongyong Pinyin | jyong | cin | syuan | jhe | jhih | chih | shih | rih | zih | cih | sih | ||||||||
Wade–Giles | chien | chiung | chʻin | hsüan | chê | chih | chʻê | chʻih | shê | shih | jê | jih | tsê | tso | tzŭ | tsʻê | tzʻŭ | sê | ssŭ |
Bopomofo | ㄐㄧㄢ | ㄐㄩㄥ | ㄑㄧㄣ | ㄒㄩㄢ | ㄓㄜ | ㄓ | ㄔㄜ | ㄔ | ㄕㄜ | ㄕ | ㄖㄜ | ㄖ | ㄗㄜ | ㄗㄨㄛ | ㄗ | ㄘㄜ | ㄘ | ㄙㄜ | ㄙ |
example | 件 | 囧 | 秦 | 宣 | 哲 | 之 | 扯 | 赤 | 社 | 是 | 惹 | 日 | 仄 | 左 | 字 | 策 | 次 | 色 | 斯 |
IPA | ma˥ | ma˧˥ | ma˨˩˦ | ma˥˩ | ma |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pinyin | mā | má | mǎ | mà | ma |
Tongyong Pinyin | ma | må | |||
Wade–Giles | ma1 | ma2 | ma3 | ma4 | ma |
Bopomofo | ㄇㄚ | ㄇㄚˊ | ㄇㄚˇ | ㄇㄚˋ | ˙ㄇㄚ |
example (Chinese characters) | 媽 | 麻 | 馬 | 罵 | 嗎 |
But local governments will not be able to get financial aid from the central government if they insist on using the provincial Tongyong Pinyin system for all new street signs, documents, tourist maps, and other things related to Chinese romanization.
To reflect general acceptance of the Tongyong Pinyin system by local governments, from today, Taipei Times will adopt this as the default Romanization system for place names in Taiwan. Exceptions apply for Taipei City, for which the Hanyu Pinyin system applies; city and county names whose traditional spelling has been retained (e.g., Kaohsiung, Keelung, Hsinchu); and localities with commonly accepted variations (e.g. Tamsui).
Since Taiwan's Tongyong pinyin is closer to how English is actually pronounced and spoken around the world, – it uses "si" instead of "xi" – the new MRT line should use Tongyong pinyin. Kaohsiung's MRT has used Tongyong pinyin for many years, yet foreign visitors and residents have no problem navigating the system.
基進黨台南市東區市議員參選人李宗霖今天指出,台南市路名牌拼音未統一、音譯錯誤等,建議統一採用通用拼音。對此,台南市政府交通局回應,南市已實施通用拼音多年,將全面檢視路名牌,依現行音譯方式進行校對改善。
why does Kaohsiung City insist on making visitors guess what 'Shihcyuan' is supposed to represent? Especially when a few blocks away, the same road has somehow morphed into 'Shiquan' (十全路) Road? Move away from Kaohsiung's city center and streets, neighborhoods or townships can have several romanized names ... sometimes on the same signage.{...}The refusal to adopt Hanyu in Kaohsiung seems based on nothing more than groundless fear of loss of identity or diminished regional autonomy. Listen, Kaohsiung: we won't lose our identity or our freedom by changing the romanized spelling of Singjhong Road (興中)to Xingzhong.
Taoyuan District Maolin District Namasia District Jiasian District Liouguei District Shanlin District Meinong District Neimen District Cishan District Dashu District Daliao District Zihguan District Linyuan District Tianliao District Yanchao District Dashe District Renwu District Siaogang District Fongshan District Mituo District Alian District Gangshan District Niaosong District Ciaotou District Nanzih District Zuoying District Gushan District Sanmin District Sinsing District Cianjin District YanCheng District Lingya District Cijin District Cianjhen District Hunei District Lujhu District Cheting District Yongan District
Eastern District Office North District Office West Central District Office South District Office Anping District Office Annan District Office Sinying District Office Yanshuei District Office Baihe District Office Liouying District Office Houbi District Office Dongshan District Office Madou District Office Xiaying District Office Lioujia District Office Guantian District Office Danei District Office Jiali District Office Syuejia District Office Sigang District Office Cigu District Office Jiangjyun District Office Beimen District Office Sinhua District Office Shanhua District Office Sinshih District Office Shanshang District Office Yujing District Office Nansi District Office Nanhua District Office Zuojhen District Office Rende District Office Gueiren District Office Guanmiao District Office Longci District Office Yong Kang District Office Anding District Office
台中捷運綠線明年底通車,目前18站有命名爭議,捷運迷也發現,車站名稱的英文拼音「一市兩制」,台中的道路採「漢語拼音」,捷運站是用「通用拼音」,以主要幹道文心路為例,路牌是漢語拼音「wenxin」;捷運站是通用拼音「wunsin」。
The Taichung City Council on Monday (Aug. 24) gave initial approval to station names on the Taichung Mass Rapid Transit's (TMRT) green line, which is set to begin operation by the end of this year.
After a preliminary inspection of the 16.71-km line Monday, the city council gave a nod to the 18 station names on the green line. The English station names were converted using Tongyong pinyin (通用拼音) while four of the stations will also have alternate names, according to CNA.
Title PostDate Shueilin Township{...}Linnei Township{...}Kouhu Township{...}Cihtong Township{...}Sihhu Township{...}Dapi Township{...}Yuanchang Township{...}Gukeng Township{...}Taisi Township{...}Beigang Township{...}Baojhong Township{...}Tuku Township{...}Dongshih Township{...}Siluo Township{...}Mailiao Township{...}Huwei Township{...}Lunbei Township{...}Dounan Township{...}Erlun Township{...}Douliou City{...}
Wunhua Rd. Fusing Rd. Fusing Rd.
基隆市信義區公所 Keelung City Sinyi District Office
Subordinated to Keelung City Government, Sinyi District Household Registration Office is located in the center of Keelung City. The current district area is 10.670 sq. km., including 20 villages and 412 neighborhoods in total. Since many government institutions are here and a large proportion of the residents are government officials, Sinyi District is also called ¡§educational and cultural district.¡¨ It is adjacent to Jhongjheng District in the east and north, Renai District in the south, Rueifang District, New Taipei City in the South-east.
Cijin district
Despite the central government's decision to make Tongyong Pinyin the official system for the Roman-ization of street signs, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday remained firm in his stand that the Taipei City Government would continue using Hanyu Pinyin as its Romanization standard.
Taiwan has held on to traditional characters and bopomofo, resolutely resisted simplified characters, mostly retained Wade–Giles and Yale for personal, political and geographical names in Taiwan, but grudgingly accepted the linguistic arguments for Hanyu pinyin signage in public spaces.