Wade–Giles

Wade–Giles

Wade–Giles is a Romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It was developed by Thomas Francis Wade, a British ambassador in China and further refined by Herbert A. Giles, a British consul in China. The system was widely used in the English-speaking world until the adoption of Pinyin.

History

Thomas Francis Wade first developed the system during his study of Chinese language in the mid-19th century. He intended it to be used by his students at the University of Cambridge and in his Chinese language textbook. Herbert A. Giles, a British diplomat in China, later made modifications to the system. The modified version, known as Wade–Giles, was used in English-language publications outside China until the late 20th century.

System

The Wade–Giles system uses a specific set of symbols to represent the sounds of Mandarin Chinese. It includes diacritical marks to indicate tone and aspiration. The system is less straightforward than Pinyin, as it uses several different symbols to represent the same sound, depending on the context.

Criticism and Legacy

Despite its widespread use, the Wade–Giles system has been criticized for its complexity and lack of phonetic accuracy. With the adoption of Pinyin by the Chinese government in the 1950s, the use of Wade-Giles has declined. However, it remains an important tool for scholars and historians studying China during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

See Also

• Romanization of Chinese
• Pinyin
• Yale Romanization of Mandarin
• Gwoyeu Romatzyh