The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction

316 PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

o as in "go"

u as in "rhubarb"

3. Unmarked consonants are generally pronounced as they are in English,
   with a few exceptions:
   c as in "ancient"
   k unaspirated as in "skin"
   kh aspirated as the k in "kin"
   fi as the ny in "canyon"
   p unaspirated as in "spot"
   ph as in "upholstery"
   t unaspirated as in "stop"
   th as in "Thomas"


4. Retroflex dots under letters-as in t, lJ, 1).-mean that those letters
   should be pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled back up into the
   middle of the mouth, giving them a nasal quality. Exceptions to this rule:
   ~is pronounced as the shin "sheep"
   ! as the lin "apple"
   :r as the ri in "rig"


5. Other marked consonants:
   s as the shin "sheep"
   tp. as a humming sound, pronounced in the nose and the back of the
   mouth, much like the ng in "sing"

Chinese. Aside from modern place names, such as Beijing, Chinese words in
this book are transliterated using the Wade-Giles system, as this is the system
found in most scholarly books on Chinese Buddhism. A few peculiarities of
the system are as follows:

1. Initials:
   ch unaspirated as the c in "ancient"
   ch' as the ch in "chest"
   hs as the shin "shirt"
   j as the sur in "leisure"
   k unaspirated as in "skin"
   k' aspirated as the k in "kin"
   p unaspirated as in "spot"
   p' aspirated as the p in "pot"