John Cowan writes:
> Edward Cherlin scripsit:
>
>> The spelling "Peking" in the Wade-Giles Romanization represents the
>> same pronunciation in the same dialect as "Beijing" in Pinyin.
>
> I don't think so. W-G k = Pinyin g, not j. The W-G would be
> Peiching.
>
My understanding is that northern Mandarin underwent a sound shift between
the time the Jesuits came up with the romanization in question (late 17th,
early 18th century) and today. The city is still "Bak-ging" in Cantonese.
And I refuse to call it anything other than Peking myself.
=====
John H. Jenkins
jenkins@apple.com
tseng@blueneptune.com
http://www.blueneptune.com/~tseng
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