Bulletin Summer 1979

examples. Q. If the confusion over Cantonese pronunciation is allowed to continue, what will be the consequences? A. First and foremost, the purpose of communication will be defeated. Every dialect has its characteristics and rules and there are fixed rules of conversion between different dialects. The confusion over Cantonese pronunciation will not only upset its pronunciation pattern, but also create many unwarranted difficulties for Cantonese speakers when learning pu tong hua or other dialects. Q, Can we take the change in pronunciation of certain characters as the natural outcome of evolution in pronunciation? A. The confused state Cantonese pronunciation is in can hardly be looked upon as a stage in the process of evolution. The changes depend on the whim of the speakers and are not of a systematic nature. Q. Then what should be done to rectify the situation? A. To standardize pronunciation, I'd rather we revert to the original correct pronunciation than make one of the new pronunciations the standard. Pronunciation of Chinese characters should be based on the rhyme books. It would be futile to talk about standardization if the spoken language was divorced from the written one. 5