Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesOk, there’s something that is bothering me tremendously. It’s how the media pronounces the name capital of the People’s Republic of China. I’d gladly give $100 to any missions group if I could prevent myself from ever hearing one more reporter calling it “Bay-ZHHHHHHHing.”

It’s Beijing, pronounced “Bay Jing.” The J is like a hard G, like in Ginger, or Gin. Think “Bay Gin” and add a soft g to the end. Got that? Bei as in north, Jing as in capital. Not PeiKing or Pekin or Bay-ZHHHHHing, or Nanjing (hah!) but Beijing.

For those of us who have labored with Chinese tones and Pin Yin, you’ll remember this: The zh in Pin Yin is the sound used by the media when they mistake the J as a soft zh sound, like a cz sound in Polish. The J is hard! As the Olympics are going to be ardently watched in my home, I hope they fix this before I go insane!

P.S. I’m not alone!