Latin Pinyin
| Author |
|---|
| Muke Tever | ✎ |
| Status |
| abandoned (2004) |
Chinese, literally Romanized: a method for spelling Mandarin roughly as if it were Latin.
This Romanization is lossy: several Chinese phonemes may correspond to one Latin spelling. Additionally, tone is not indicated. The main impetus for this system was a way to Latinize Chinese names.
General correspondences
Initials
| pinyin | Latin | pinyin | Latin | pinyin | Latin | pinyin | Latin | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | p | p | ph | m | m | f | f | |||
| d | t | t | th | n | n | l | l | |||
| g | c | k | ch | h | h | |||||
| j | c(i) | q | ch(i) | x | s(i) | |||||
| z | z | c | s | s | s | |||||
| zh | t(i) | ch | th(i) | sh | s(i) | r | z† |
† "R" might be keepable for r, but I don't know if the r is a sound a Latin-speaker would hear as r.
- Aspirated consonants are spelled with "h", extending the convention already used for Greek.
- Many of the sibilants fall together to the Latin ear.
- The "(i)"s drop before i, y, and diphthongs beginning with u. If you were using j (not common these days) it would be used here instead of i.
Finals
| i i | u u | ü y | |
| a a | ia ia | ua ua | |
| o o | uo uo | ||
| e e | ie ie | üe ue | |
| er er | |||
| ai ae | uai uae | ||
| ei ei (i?) | uei (=ui) uei (ui?) | ||
| ao au | iao iau | ||
| ou ou (u?) | iou (=iu) iou (iu?) | ||
| an en | ian ien | uan uen | üan yen |
| en in | in in | uen (=un) uen | ün yn |
| ang an(g/c) | iang ian(g/c) | uang uan(g/c) | |
| eng en(g/c) | ing in(g/c) | ueng uen(g/c) | |
| ong on(g/c) | iong ion(g/c) |
- The (g/c) is something I'm not certain of. Certainly "ng" could always be spelled out (and certainly sometimes it was used: e.g., Sungteius == Shunzhi Emperor). Myself I'd prefer a c to go before unvoiced consonants (thus at least -nct-, -nch-), if not actually dropped altogether before consonants (-nt-) — h not counting as a consonant here. If it must be kept it should at least be dropped before aspirates, combinations such as -cth- being an Abhomination against Nature.
Special correspondences
| zi z | ci s | si s | |
| zhi t(i) | chi th(i) | shi s | ri z |
| ju cy | jue cye | juan cyen | jun cyn |
| qu chy | que chye | quan chyen | qun chyn |
| xu sy | xue sye | xuan syen | xun syn |
| yu y | yue ye | yuan yen | yun yn |
| ya ia | ye ie | yao iau | you iou (iu?) |
| yan ien | yin in | ying in(g/c) | yang ian(g/c) |
| yong ion(g/c) | |||
| wu u | wa va | wo vo | wai vae |
| wei vei (vi?) | wan ven | wen ven | wang van(g/c) |
| weng ven(g/c) |
Notes
Is it accurate? Who knows? The Shunzhi Emperor appeared in Latin as Sungteius, which isn't far off from what we'd have gotten (Suntius, say). Beijing comes out as Peicing or Picing [cf Peking!].
Examples
Reign names of emperors of the Ming Dynasty, transliterated and then made declinable: Hongu, Cienven, Ionle, Honsi, Syente, Tienthon(g), Cinthae, Thiensuen, Thenchua, Honti, Tiente, Ciacin(g), Lonchin(g), Vanli, Thaethian(g), Thienchi, Thiontien.
If we wanted to fully Latinize them, making them declinable, it would be as: Hong(u)us†, Cienvenus, Ionleus, Honsius, Syenteus, Thienthongus, Cinthaeus, Thiensuenus, Thenchuas‡, Hontius, Tienteus, Ciacingus, Lonchingus, Vanlius, Thaethiangus, Thienchius, Thiontienus.
- † Fourth declension, -us, -us ?
- ‡ Greek first declension, -as, -ae, like Aeneas.
