<p>I got email from grandricci.org:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The pronounciations you point out are presently not in use, indeed.
  They had been included in the dictionary fifty years ago by the first
  team because they were recognized by old dictionaries of that time or
  by the fanqie 反切 indicated in the Kangxi cidian. From a linguistical
  point of view, they are not wrong. But as they are not in use, in
  later editions of the Dictionary, the Association Ricci will have to
  make a choice between delete them or indicating their linguistic
  status.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-31T01:18:20.113Z
2015-01-07T01:55:34.387Z
2015-01-07T01:55:34.387Z
Wang Dingwei
<p>As others have explained, ě is currently used in certain nonstandard dialects. You might be interested to know that ě is the expected pronunciation based on the regular sound changes that connect Mandarin to the Middle Chinese pronunciations recorded in rhyming dictionaries. Compare these words: </p>

<p>我: Mand. wǒ, MC nga, rising tone,<br>
   餓: Mand. è, MC nga, departing tone,<br>
   蛾: Mand. é, MC nga, level tone,</p>

<p>which had the same initial and vowel but different tones. The pronunciation wǒ is not expected purely from the historical evidence of old dictionaries. I'm not certain where it came from, but it could have been influenced by words such as </p>

<p>吾: Mand. wú, MC ngu, level tone.</p>

<p>What I've written so far isn't enough to prove anything, but hopefully it provides more context. Another interesting question might be "Why is 我 pronounced wǒ?" It appears to be a slang usage that became standardized because of the political and economic power of the regions it's used in.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-12T05:24:05.770Z
Your answer is not quite convincing that the sound change was not regular. Since the reconstructions of 蛾, 餓, 我 differ by tone.
Colin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-23T16:22:42.333Z
Yet they correspond to the expected tones in Mandarin. From the rime tables 五可切 = ě, wǒ should be 五果切
iamanigeeit
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-27T21:08:19.997Z
2014-12-27T21:08:19.997Z
HAL
<p>陕西方言里面有这种读法， 比如电视剧《武林外传》里的老板娘谈到自己的时候就说 ě</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-25T13:29:05.960Z
It's `nge` in 陕西 and 山西 dialect.
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-27T11:19:50.127Z
It's è(the falling tone) in Shaanxi dialect, not ě.
Minnie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-25T12:58:19.393Z
2014-12-25T12:58:19.393Z
longtemps
<p>In some regions in northern China, for instance, Shanxi Province, "我” is pronounced as ě. In fact, there is no point in learning this sort of pronunciation, for it is merely applied in dialect. And in these dialect systems, not only “我”, scores of Chinese characters' pronunciation and intonation are changed(compared to Mandarin), which is difficult for most people, including the Chinese. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-27T04:47:21.377Z
2014-12-27T04:47:21.377Z
lava_wl
<p><strong>Grand Ricci</strong></p>

<p><strong>我</strong> </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>wǒ (or ě)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>When is 我 pronounced as ě?</p>

<p>Haven't even able to find any <em>examples</em>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-25T10:07:25.877Z
Maybe in Mr. Matteo Ricci's years it's pronounced like that?
Wang Dingwei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-27T05:42:06.857Z
In dialects. Not being widely used.
sfy
<pronunciation>
When is 我 pronounced ě?
# When is 我 pronounced ě?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-25)

**Grand Ricci**

**我**

> wǒ (or ě)

When is 我 pronounced as ě?

Haven't even able to find any *examples*.

**Tags:** pronunciation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Maybe in Mr. Matteo Ricci's years it's pronounced like that?  
> **username_2**: In dialects. Not being widely used.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-12-31. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

I got email from grandricci.org:

> The pronounciations you point out are presently not in use, indeed.
> They had been included in the dictionary fifty years ago by the first
> team because they were recognized by old dictionaries of that time or
> by the fanqie 反切 indicated in the Kangxi cidian. From a linguistical
> point of view, they are not wrong. But as they are not in use, in
> later editions of the Dictionary, the Association Ricci will have to
> make a choice between delete them or indicating their linguistic
> status.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-12-27. Score: 6

As others have explained, ě is currently used in certain nonstandard dialects. You might be interested to know that ě is the expected pronunciation based on the regular sound changes that connect Mandarin to the Middle Chinese pronunciations recorded in rhyming dictionaries. Compare these words:

我: Mand. wǒ, MC nga, rising tone,  
餓: Mand. è, MC nga, departing tone,  
蛾: Mand. é, MC nga, level tone,

which had the same initial and vowel but different tones. The pronunciation wǒ is not expected purely from the historical evidence of old dictionaries. I'm not certain where it came from, but it could have been influenced by words such as

吾: Mand. wú, MC ngu, level tone.

What I've written so far isn't enough to prove anything, but hopefully it provides more context. Another interesting question might be "Why is 我 pronounced wǒ?" It appears to be a slang usage that became standardized because of the political and economic power of the regions it's used in.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Your answer is not quite convincing that the sound change was not regular. Since the reconstructions of 蛾, 餓, 我 differ by tone.  
> **username_5**: Yet they correspond to the expected tones in Mandarin. From the rime tables 五可切 = ě, wǒ should be 五果切  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2014-12-25. Score: 1

陕西方言里面有这种读法， 比如电视剧《武林外传》里的老板娘谈到自己的时候就说 ě

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It's `nge` in 陕西 and 山西 dialect.  
> **username_7**: It's è(the falling tone) in Shaanxi dialect, not ě.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2014-12-27. Score: 0

In some regions in northern China, for instance, Shanxi Province, "我” is pronounced as ě. In fact, there is no point in learning this sort of pronunciation, for it is merely applied in dialect. And in these dialect systems, not only “我”, scores of Chinese characters' pronunciation and intonation are changed(compared to Mandarin), which is difficult for most people, including the Chinese.


---

