From: Andrew C. West (andrewcwest@alumni.princeton.edu)
Date: Mon Dec 16 2002 - 08:15:26 EST
On Mon, 16 Dec 2002 04:46:10 -0800 (PST), "Andrew C. West" wrote:
> Strangely, U+5481 wasn't in Hanyu Da Cidian
Duh! Of course it was there when I checked again at the weekend (3-253), and has
the three readings Thomas said Hanyu Da Zidian gives (HAN2 "milk" from Yu Pian;
XIAN2 = U+55DB; and GAN4 for the modern meaning).
If Hanyu Da Zidian and Hanyu Da Cidian both give GAN4 for the modern reading of
U+5481 I for one would prefer that reading to GEM4. Ci Hai also has such
non-Mandarin syllables as NGU2 for U+5514. The principle of Pinyin are clearly
defined (and like most PRC dictionaries Ci Hai includes a copy of the Hanyu
Pinyin Fang'an as an appendix - even if it does not fully adhere to it), and
syllables like GEM4 and NGU2 are simply not allowed.
On the other hand, a reading of FIAO4 for the dialectal ideograph U+8985 may
sound odd to a Mandarin speaker, but it is perfectly acceptable according to the
rules of Pinyin ("F" is a valid initial, and "IAO4" is a valid final). FIAO4 is
the only reading for this ideograph given in Hanyu Da Cidian, Ci Hai and Xiandai
Hanyu Cidian, but interestingly, Unihan gives it a reading of BIAO4 - not sure
where that reading comes from.
> You've sown a seed of doubt in my mind now. I think I got the reading from the
> Kangxi Zidian again, but now that I think back YE1 does ring a bell ... I'll
> check again.
And of course, the Kangxi Zidian does actually give a reading of YE1 ... no idea
how YI1 got into my head ... I think I must have been brain-dead all last week.
Sorry if this is getting somewhat OT.
Andrew
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