- Language log: here and here recently, not to mention others

– The Word

– Language Hack

– AP writer David Bauder (h/t to Language Log)

– LanguageHat (quite a while ago)

– Linguism here, here, and here

Oh, and I almost forgot, no list would be complete without the two didactic Chinese characters:
[YouTube clip here]

With such a cast, inevitably the race went to the courts. And then it went on to appeal. Naturally, Beizzhing* was depicted as ignorant and pretentious, perhaps even an ugly American (although the last post also produced convincing evidence that non-Americans have supported him as well). To her ardent supporters, Bay-Jing was, by contrast, pure and faithful — a model for the future of foreign place-name usage.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the jury box. Apparently, the experts could not be heard over the cacophony of “Beizhing, Beizhing!”.

Or maybe the jury just didn’t care. You can’t really argue they were paid off; Beizzhing has no supporters who care enough to bother. And those rumors about a member of the jury quoting from a headline…

“Beizhing, Pekin — whatever”

… surely cannot be true as such knowledge would have been a violation of the sequestering rules.

The whole enchilada ended with a whimper, the jury apparently issuing the verdict without fanfare in October or November. The only evidence that remains of the controversy is the new Beijing subway voice recorded in (now official) English translation:

[Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]

No, you didn’t mishear, really. It’s right from the #2 line:

[Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]

My sympathies to the partisans on the losing side. It’s never easy. Maybe you can take solace in the eternal truth that language changes. So you can still harangue your in-laws and coworkers — you can lobby the BBC pronunciation unit for stronger enforcement. And maybe, just maybe, come 2012, your competitor can dream again.

For the less strident partisans more interested in living their lives than fighting for an imaginary truth, here’s a final quote from the first editorial:

Beizhing is here to stay. Be calm!

As the lady says: have a nice day.

————

*Bay-Jing = [beɪdʒɪŋ] and Beizzhing (aka Beizhing) = [beɪʒɪŋ]

3. It’s quixotic

(An appropriate word given its present-day English pronunciation vs. the Spanish pronunciation of the originating surname.) Here’s the deal: Beizhing, as far as I can tell, is winning over Bay-jing in the US. Give it up already.

2. It’s misguided

If you’re using Bay-Jing/Beizhing as a shibboleth for geographical sophistication, or cultural knowledge, or something, it’s a really poor proxy for real judgment — trust me on this. Why? Take one example and think about what you call those mountains around Mt. Everest – Chomolungma – Qomolangma – Sagarmatha – whatever. The Himalayas? The Himalaya? The Himahlya? Then see what Grant Hutchison says about the madness. (Hilarious stuff — hat tip to Language Hat, who, by the way, also covers Beizhing)

1. It’s wrong anyway

Whatever you call Beijing is going to sound wrong — or at least like an affectation — to someone else. Let’s say you finally browbeat your friends (if you have any left) and your mom into saying Bay-Jing. To a Beijinger, the tones are going to be all wrong anyway. The J is going to be off. If you wanna get down & dirty: the English B isn’t exactly like the Mandarin B either.

Let’s face it: English, like every other language, needs its own pronunciation of the capital city. So relax! She can say Beizhing and he can say Bay-jing (or even Peking, which you almost never hear in the US anymore — don’t know about elsewhere in English-land; see this article on pinyin.info for some explanation about how we ever went from Peking to Beijing in the first place).

We all understand each other, so don’t be so self-conscious. Be like these folks that I talked to on a recent business trip and just say, “this is how we say it.”

In Albanian

Pekin

Taxi driver in Chicago: [Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]

In Algerian-Argentinian English

Bay-Jing

Taxi driver Hamimi in Chicago: [Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]

In American Midwest English

Beizzhing

Seatmate Dave from MN, on the plane to Chicago: [Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]

Grandfather Beijing Sounds, from the western US: [Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]

In Macedonian

Beizzhing

Taxi driver in Chicago: [Go to website or bottom of this post to listen to audio]
[Note: When I tried to look this up in an online Macedonian dictionary, all I could find indicated it would be pronounced "Peking". Maybe that's an older form, as in English? Any Macedonians out there who could clarify?]

Post Mortem

If you native English speakers promise to be good, and to free your mind from the clouds of pride and prejudice, and hereafter to follow the placename-pronunciation advice provided above, I’ll tell you the real reason you keep harping on people to say BAY-JING, the real reason you grind your teeth and lose track of the conversation every time someone says Beizzhing.

Want a hint? It has nothing to do with Mandarin and wanting foreigners to say the word like they say it in Beijing. It has everything to do, though, with some other language that somehow just doesn’t play well with English.

Oh, what’s that? You promise? Really? OK, and I know you’d half-guessed the answer already anyway.

Your resentment of Beizhing comes from the deep-seated suspicion that people who say Beizhing have French-envy. And it makes you indignant and embarrassed for your native language. “They think anything exotic probably has to sound French and that’s why they’re saying Beizhing. They’re trying to sound sophisticated and worldly and think that a faux-French accent is going get them there!”

“It’s sick!” you say. “It’s got to stop!”

Yes, I reckon that’s how it began. And I will admit to the occasional twinge even now when I hear it. But regardless, Beizhing is here to stay. Be calm!