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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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 Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 10:51 pm Post subject: "WeiWei" = 'WayWay' NOT 'WeeWee' |
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| Nyrthak wrote: |
I teach kindergarten children. I have a Lion in my class. There is also a Wei Wei (pronunced Wee Wee). The children's arrival at the Kindergarten is announced every morning over the PA. Wei Wei's arrival goes something like this: "Can I have your attention please, Can I have your attention please. Wei Wei is coming. Wei Wei is coming. Teachers get ready". Sent me into fits of laughter when I first arrived. 
Last month all the children were learning "heads, shoulders, knees and toes" for sports day. I had to explain to the teacher leading the song why it should not be introduced by saying "Now we are going to touch our body parts".  |
Hi Nyrthak,
Are you British? Royal? Scotch? This is not a criticism. 
Just to say that that name with the PinYin "WeiWei" would be pronounced with the English sound of 'WayWay'.
Long 'a' sound. Not the long 'e' sound. But, perhaps regional variations of Chinese pronounciation have more of a long 'e' sound for that PinYin??? Or, it could be that you are not so familiar with Chinese as to hear it distinctively yet. So, you are hearing what you want to hear. All things in time, as they say.
To have the same sound as 'WeeWee' the PinYin would have to be "WiWi". But, in Chinese I am not aware of any words with the PinYin "Wi", a quick check of my (average) Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary verifies it. Though it may be that some quite uncommon words have such PinYin. As an aside, in Chinese, "i" is sometimes the long 'e' and sometimes the short 'i'.
A previous poster mentioned the student chuckles that result from saying the English word "shabby"...
In Chinese ShaBi (pronounced SHAH BEE) can mean 'stupid/idiot slave/servant girl'. 'Sha' meaning stupid/idiot, and 'bi' meaning slave or servant girl.
However, the same Chinese 'bi' (and I may be mistaken that they are the same character) has the colloqial meaning of female genitalia. So, it is something like the "C word" in English.
Listen around the halls of school.... and in the classroom and you'll probably hear it quite commonly used as an insult or a curse. I tell them not to swear in Chinese or English when I pick it up.
Interestingly, as I just discovered, there is one Chinese word for "shabby", that also uses a different character with the PinYin of, you guessed it, 'bi'.
Ciao!
LFA |
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Nyrthak
Joined: 20 Mar 2006
Posts: 16
Location: ASIA
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| Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 6:06 am Post subject: |
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LFA,
Thankyou for your explanation of pinyin. I will take notes. Actually, I was talking about how the name sounded over the PA when spoken by the Chinese. It sounds like Wee Wee over the PA. It is true, when I asked the teacher about it she pronouned it more like Way Way, but this is not how its sounds over the PA. Sorry, I still choose to find it funny.
Also, I am not British, Royal or Scotch. Though I am sure they are lovely people. |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| Nyrthak wrote: |
LFA,
Thankyou for your explanation of pinyin. I will take notes. Actually, I was talking about how the name sounded over the PA when spoken by the Chinese. It sounds like Wee Wee over the PA. It is true, when I asked the teacher about it she pronouned it more like Way Way, but this is not how its sounds over the PA. Sorry, I still choose to find it funny.
Also, I am not British, Royal or Scotch. Though I am sure they are lovely people. |
Hiya,
Well, it was just a shot in the dark I suppose. I was trying to say "WeiWei" and make it sound like "WeeWee".
Those accents, British Royal family, and Scotch, came out the closest.
I didn't think to try my Chinese PA system impersonation. 
Cheers,
LFA
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