<p>As recorded in <a href="http://baike.baidu.com/view/93816.htm" rel="noreferrer">Baidu</a>, this unique pronunciation of “和” as "hàn" actually originates from the Old Beijing dialect. Extracted from the blog article titled <a href="http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4b6668a101017ikp.html" rel="noreferrer">台湾人为嘛把“和”读作hàn?</a>, it says the following:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>1945年10月台湾光复，日语的“国语”黯然退出，台胞急着要回复祖国的语文，要说国语，要认汉字。
  1946年4月2日台湾省国语推行委员会正式成立。台湾国语会的标志性贡献是编订《国音标准汇编》，作为推行标准国语的根据。1946年5月1日起，由“老北京”齐铁根先生每日在清晨7时，在电台担任“国语读音示范”，播讲民众国语读本、国语会话，国民学校国语、常识、历史、各种课本，供学国语的人收听，匡正语音。当时的学校教师现听现学现教，使广大的学生也能及时学到国语，学习标准的国音。这位齐铁根当时成了家喻户晓的大师级人物，直到现在上年纪的台湾人还能回忆起齐先生娓娓动听的“京片子”，连词“和”读hàn（“汗”）就此在台湾深入人心。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In short, a Mandarin Promotion Council was formally established in Taiwan after the end of WWII to restore the literacy level of the Chinese Language. Mr Ji, an old-timer from Beijing, was enlisted to do a daily national broadcast to demonstrate the standard pronunciation of Mandarin through a series of dialogue and reading sessions. The teachers learned as they listened and help spread their knowledge to the students. Mr Ji was widely regarded as a Mandarin guru at that time and he is still a familiar household name for many of the older Taiwanese today.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-03T03:03:38.287Z
Thanks :). Actually, 老北京 here means 'someone (often advanced in age) who comes from and has lived in Beijing for most of their life, and who acts/speaks in a way that's stereotypically of Beijing.'. It is therefore short for 老北京人. This *might* imply that the person's accent/vocab is typical of that from decades ago, which is actually the case in this context. I do, however, agree with the overall picture that your answer paints.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-03T07:03:38.407Z
@JamesJiao, can you provide the source for this definition of "老北京"? I can't find it online :(
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-03T07:16:54.150Z
老+place name is a common enough expression. I guess I am the source. :) I will give you some examples for you to decide for yourself. http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2011-08/08/content_891339.htm?div=-1 and http://news.yninfo.com/yn/kmxw/200711/t20071120_551107.htm . The second link also gives you 老昆明 :). Another real life example: I am not a 老上海 since I left Shanghai at a young age, but my parents are :).
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-03T10:22:32.630Z
@JamesJiao, that's great! This reminds me of my old question on [老外](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/2471/878). The explanation "someone (often advanced in age) who comes from and has lived in Beijing for most of their life, and who acts/speaks in a way that is stereotypical of Beijing." seems applicable to 老外 too. I can now agree with you the meaning of "老北京” in the context here. But then, do you agree that "老北京” also refers to the old city of Beijing before expansion? Thanks!
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-03T11:14:42.577Z
Yes, it could definitely mean that too, but not in the context of your example :). But in this definition, it's sort of vague. Old to what degree? Before the Communist? Before the National Party? Prior to 1980? I guess it's all up to the context.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-02T04:47:41.013Z
2013-03-03T10:30:20.230Z
2013-03-03T10:30:20.230Z
杨以轩
<p>This is something that I noticed in Taiwanese Mandarin TV series and films. It seems that they pronounce this character as <strong>hàn</strong> instead of the commonly accepted <strong>hé</strong>. </p>

<p>For example, 我和你 is pronounced <strong>wǒ hàn nǐ</strong>.</p>

<p>Normally you'd expect accent differences, but this seems to be way off. </p>

<p>Where did this pronunciation come from? Could it have been influenced by Taiwanese Hakka?</p>

<pronunciation><etymology><taiwan>
Pronunciation of 和 in Taiwan
# Pronunciation of 和 in Taiwan

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-03-02)

This is something that I noticed in Taiwanese Mandarin TV series and films. It seems that they pronounce this character as **hàn** instead of the commonly accepted **hé**.

For example, 我和你 is pronounced **wǒ hàn nǐ**.

Normally you'd expect accent differences, but this seems to be way off.

Where did this pronunciation come from? Could it have been influenced by Taiwanese Hakka?

**Tags:** pronunciation, etymology, taiwan


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-03-02. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

As recorded in [Baidu](http://baike.baidu.com/view/93816.htm), this unique pronunciation of “和” as "hàn" actually originates from the Old Beijing dialect. Extracted from the blog article titled [台湾人为嘛把“和”读作hàn?](http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4b6668a101017ikp.html), it says the following:

> 1945年10月台湾光复，日语的“国语”黯然退出，台胞急着要回复祖国的语文，要说国语，要认汉字。
> 1946年4月2日台湾省国语推行委员会正式成立。台湾国语会的标志性贡献是编订《国音标准汇编》，作为推行标准国语的根据。1946年5月1日起，由“老北京”齐铁根先生每日在清晨7时，在电台担任“国语读音示范”，播讲民众国语读本、国语会话，国民学校国语、常识、历史、各种课本，供学国语的人收听，匡正语音。当时的学校教师现听现学现教，使广大的学生也能及时学到国语，学习标准的国音。这位齐铁根当时成了家喻户晓的大师级人物，直到现在上年纪的台湾人还能回忆起齐先生娓娓动听的“京片子”，连词“和”读hàn（“汗”）就此在台湾深入人心。

In short, a Mandarin Promotion Council was formally established in Taiwan after the end of WWII to restore the literacy level of the Chinese Language. Mr Ji, an old-timer from Beijing, was enlisted to do a daily national broadcast to demonstrate the standard pronunciation of Mandarin through a series of dialogue and reading sessions. The teachers learned as they listened and help spread their knowledge to the students. Mr Ji was widely regarded as a Mandarin guru at that time and he is still a familiar household name for many of the older Taiwanese today.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks :). Actually, 老北京 here means 'someone (often advanced in age) who comes from and has lived in Beijing for most of their life, and who acts/speaks in a way that's stereotypically of Beijing.'. It is therefore short for 老北京人. This *might* imply that the person's accent/vocab is typical of that from decades ago, which is actually the case in this context. I do, however, agree with the overall picture that your answer paints.  
> **username_1**: @JamesJiao, can you provide the source for this definition of "老北京"? I can't find it online :(  
> **username_0**: 老+place name is a common enough expression. I guess I am the source. :) I will give you some examples for you to decide for yourself. http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2011-08/08/content_891339.htm?div=-1 and http://news.yninfo.com/yn/kmxw/200711/t20071120_551107.htm . The second link also gives you 老昆明 :). Another real life example: I am not a 老上海 since I left Shanghai at a young age, but my parents are :).  
> **username_1**: @JamesJiao, that's great! This reminds me of my old question on [老外](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/q/2471/878). The explanation "someone (often advanced in age) who comes from and has lived in Beijing for most of their life, and who acts/speaks in a way that is stereotypical of Beijing." seems applicable to 老外 too. I can now agree with you the meaning of "老北京” in the context here. But then, do you agree that "老北京” also refers to the old city of Beijing before expansion? Thanks!  
> **username_0**: Yes, it could definitely mean that too, but not in the context of your example :). But in this definition, it's sort of vague. Old to what degree? Before the Communist? Before the National Party? Prior to 1980? I guess it's all up to the context.  

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