Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Gwoyeu Romatzyh (GR) is a system for writing Mandarin Chinese in the Latin alphabet. GR is the better known of the two romanization systems which indicate the four tones of Mandarin by varying the spelling of syllables. GR was used to indicate pronunciations in dictionaries of the National Language of China.
About Gwoyeu Romatzyh in brief
Gwoyeu Romatzyh (GR) is a system for writing Mandarin Chinese in the Latin alphabet. GR is the better known of the two romanization systems which indicate the four tones of Mandarin by varying the spelling of syllables. GR uses a complicated system of tonal spelling that obscures the basic relationship between spelling and tone. GR was used to indicate pronunciations in dictionaries of the National Language of China. In 1928 GR was officially adopted by the government as the nation’s official romanized system. GR lost ground to Pinyin and other later romanizations systems. However, its influence is still evident, as several of the principles introduced by its creators have been used in romanisation systems that followed it. GR’s pattern of tone spelling was retained in the standard spelling of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. Some prominent Chinese transliterators have used GR to distinguish their names: Cherning Shi-Shen, Shānxi Shi-Ning, and Shāndōng Shi-Xin. GR has been used to distinguish the first syllable of Shǎnxī, to distinguish it from Shânxi Shìnxi, to make it easier for people to understand the different dialects of the province.
It is also used in the official spelling of Shèngxi, a province of China, where it is not possible to distinguish between the two dialects without the use of diacritics. The system was developed by Yuen Ren Chao and developed by a group of linguists including Chao and Lin Yutang from 1925 to 1926. Chao claimed that, because GR embeds the tone of each syllable in its spelling, it may help students to master Chinese tones. In the 1930s two short-lived attempts were made to teach GR to railway workers and peasants in Hénán and Shēnxi provinces. During this period GR faced increasing hostility because of the complexity of its phonetic rigour. Ultimately, like the rival system Latin Sinwenz, GR failed to gain widespread support, principally because the language had not yet become a strong language in China. It was not yet a reality in reality in the late 20th century.
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This page is based on the article Gwoyeu Romatzyh published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
