Prononciations littéraires et prononciations familières des sinogrammes

Differing literary and colloquial readings for certain Chinese characters are a common feature of many Chinese varieties, and the reading distinctions for these linguistic doublets often typify a dialect group. Literary readings (/) are usually used in loanwords, names (geographic and personal), literary works (like poetry), and in formal settings, while colloquial/vernacular readings (/) are usually used in everyday vernacular speech. For example, Mandarin normally read "white" (白) with colloquial pronunciation bái (bai2), but can read it with the literary pronunciation bó (bo2) as a name or in some formal or historical settings. This example is particularly well known due to its effect on the modern pronunciation of the names of the Tang dynasty (618–907) poets Bai Juyi and Li Bai (alternatively, "Bo Juyi" and "Li Bo"). The differing pronunciations led linguists to explore the linguistic strata. The colloquial readings is generally believed to represent a substratum, while their literary counterparts a superstratum. Such differences reflect a history of dialect mixing and the influence of education and instruction on the area. Colloquial readings typically reflect a given Chinese variety’s native phonology, while literary readings typically originate from other Chinese varieties, typically more prestigious varieties. Colloquial readings are usually older, resembling the sound systems described by old rime dictionaries like Guangyun. Literary readings are closer to newer sound systems' phonology. In certain Mandarin and Wu dialects, many literary readings are the result of Nanjing Mandarin or Beijing Mandarin influence in Ming and Qing dynasties. Formal education and discourse usually use past prestigious varieties, so formal settings usually use literary readings. Although the phonology of the Chinese variety in which this occurred did not entirely match that of the prestige variety when in formal settings, they tended to evolve toward the prestige variety. Also, neologisms usually use the pronunciation of prestigious varieties.