SYLLABARY OF CHINESE SOUNDS. 513 
PRONUNCIATION. 
An approximation only of the true sound is aimed at in this system. 
The vowels are to be pronounced as in Italian and on the continent of 
Europe generally, and the consonants as in English; but note certain slight 
modifications as described hereunder. 
VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS. 
a has the sound of a in father. Examples: ma, horse; sha, sand; wan, a bay; shan, 
mountain; «az, south. 
e or é has the sound of ¢ in men. Examples: 4zéz, a district; zéx, face, surface; séé, 
snow; ?’zé, iron; yvé, wild; Azé, cavern; ¢’2én, field; ye, salt. 
i has the sound of 7 in ravine, or of ee in beet. Examples: st, west; ts?, rocks under 
water; k’t, a rivulet; nz, mud; 7 (also read yz), city, hamlet. 
Nore: 7 is short as 7 in sin, or 7 in view, when followed by n, by another vowel 
oradiphthong. Examples: £7, gold; ¢s’ézg, blue; 42a, family; £zang, 
river; ¢@éx, palace; &’2au, bridge; &’2az, a model. 
i signifies that a vowel is to be intonated simultaneously with the adjoining sonant. 
See Note 2, below. Examples: ch’é, a pool or lake; sz, stone, rock; /2, 
sun; ssé, a township; ¢z’¢, porcelain; #7”, two. 
o has the sound of o in mote. Examples: so, a place; 4o,a river; fo, Buddha; Zo, 
a marshy lake. 
fe) has the sound of 6 in German, Hungarian, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, or 
of ez in French jeu, or of o in English love. Examples: ox, gate, door; 
shéng, a province; fo, virtue. 
Note: To describe this sound Wade makes use of the symbol é familiar to 
speakers of French in such words as honnéte, where it has quite 
a different sound, though, from the one it stands for in Wade’s 
orthography. 
u has the sound of 00 in boot. Examples: 4, lake; zu, valley; fu, a prefecture. 
Note: uis short when preceding”, a, 0,or adiphthong. Examples: /’u, village; 
tung, east; kuang, broad; ch’uan, river, water courses, Sst-ch’uan 
province; chuang, a farm; huang, yellow; kuaxn, frontier pass, 
custom-house; ‘waz, short; £wvo, kingdom; &’waz, quick. 
ti is the umlaut of w and has the sound of w in French élu. Examples: sz, an islet; 
ki, embankment; 4’, a drain; 4, market-place. 
Norte: z# is short when preceding n, a,or é. Examples: sd, a military station; 
ts’téian, fountain; ywax, source; s#é, snow; y#é, moon. 
ai has the sound of 7 in ice. Examples: Zaz, sea; ¢’az, terrace, tower; ch’az, strong- 
hold, hill fortress; @z, cliff, ledge. 
au has the sound of owin how. Examples: av, a bay, cove; 4au, high; Zaz, old; 
mau, temple. 
ei has the sound of Italian e and 7 combined, somewhat like ey in English they. 
Examples: ez, black; /e#, thunder; ez, coal; fet, north; we?, tail end. 
ou is a diphthong in which the two elements are distinctly intonated, as in /’éw, head; 
which should have the sound of the first word in Hebrew tohu bohu with- 
out its h. Examples: /év, a house with an upper story; 4’év, a mouth, 
embouchure, a port; £éu, a ditch; 2éu, after, behind; féw, a mound. 
ui sounds like 002, contracted into a diphthong, or like wz in German pfui. Examples: 
shut, water, river; 2uz, whirling waters; ¢wz, a heap (as of rocks). 
