From: ma@cc.usu.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.taiwan
Subject: Hui4, Gui4 , or Kuai4 (Re: Oct 1, our National Day
Date: 8 Oct 92 17:03:20 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

In article <ld91ueINNs05@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>, stlin@stevelin.Eng.Sun.COM (Steven Lin) writes:
> In article <Bvt61G.FFt@cs.psu.edu> jyw@phys.psu.edu (Jin-Yuan Wu) writes:
>>>>
>>>It is Qin Kuai, Kuai is a combination of wood and meeting, pronounced
>>>to be Kuai, not "Hui". Isn't it a distruction of Chinese culture?
>>>Note: I checked my dictionary which was published in mainland X years ago.
>>
>>This charactor has at least three pronounciations as I know: Hui4, Kuai4 
>>and Gui4. Hui4 is a pronounciation used in Beijing Operas. 
> 
> As I know of, the Beijing opera performs in Taiwan that word is still
> pronounced to be Kuai. I just had very good Mandarin teachers, husband and
> wife both from Bei Shi Da. There is no way to read it as Hui.
> In the meanwhile, I checked my dictionary which was published in mainland
> in 80s. I could only find the Hui pronouncition. So, it is the wild rule
> to read Chinese: if it has side, read side(s) as the whole word, or read
> the middle one. Yu Ben Du Ben, Mei Ben Du Chung Jian.  That is why you 
> guys reading it as Hui, the side word (meeting).
> I also found the word "popular", Kuai Zi Zen Kuo, is also twisted to be
> Hui Zi Zen Kuo, in that dictionary.
> 
> It is possible that Mao Ze Dong to be pronounced as Mao Zei(thief) Dong.:-)
> 
> No wonder, I felt much difficult to understand Shi-chuan Hua: Zuo Man Tou,
> Yu Ban Tou, sounded like making Man-tou. The real one is: turn right all
> the way, turn left halt way.
> 

Some comments about above discussion on the Chinese pronounciation:

(1) As I learnt, that particular character has two pronounciations, Gui4 and
Hui4. As refering to that kind of tree, it is pronounced as Gui4. As refering
that historical name, it is pronounced as Hui4. However, a small dictionary
at my hand only gives Gui4. I haven't heared of the third one Kuai4. But I 
won't say that is wrong if there are sufficient number of Chinese speaking
pronouncing it in that way. In this particular case, that might indeed be
mispronounced by certain people according to the wild rule mentioned by Mr.
Lin because that the left half of the character can also be pronounced as Kuai4,
as in Kuai4Ji4 (accounting).
(2) There are indeed distortions in Taiwan mandurin, some mispronounciations,
some variant tones, and some grammars, although I don't consider it as the
distruction of the culture because that the influence is very limited.
(3) Often time, one can hear that some brothers/sisters from Taiwan try to
nitpick the language that mainlanders speak, such as how peanuts and potatoes
should be pronounced. I think that is rediculous although not every mainlander
speaks perfect mandurin. There is no rigid rule in a language, if the majority
of the speakers use it, that is the right way, even the wrong is right. 
That was how the standard from.
(4) Talking about Sichuan hua4, Mr. Lin, do you know what Chui2ze (hammer)
means in Sichuan hua4?        You can check YOUR dictionary although I doubt
you can find it.   I myself didn't know it before, but I never say it is wrong.

Ma


Newsgroups: soc.culture.china