# Pronunciation: 恐惧片



## yuechu

Hello,

I was looking up the term "horror movie" in Chinese and I believe it should be "恐惧片". I am wondering, though, how the character 片 is pronounced? Is it pian1 or pian4? (Different dictionaries seem to give me different information about this character)
Thank you in advance/谢谢!


----------



## Green6

I can think of three translations for "Horror movie", in case you need them. 恐怖片/恐惧片/惊悚片

I believe that the character 片 should be pronounced as pian1.


----------



## xiaolijie

I'd go for "pian4" in this case (same as dong4hua4pain4, dian4shi4pian4, etc) but I have seen similar combinations that are read "pian1" (dian4jiao1pian1, dian4shi4xi4lie4pian1, etc.) To confuse matters further, I sometimes see the same combinations read as "pian1" by some and "pian4" by others


----------



## viajero_canjeado

My impression is that the common designation in Taiwan would be 恐怖片; I would pronounce 片 in the fourth tone. 別看太多了呀! 你會有惡夢。


----------



## yuechu

Thank you all for your answers!

Might it be regional then? I think maybe 北方人 might say pian1 more often and 南方 pian4？


----------



## Green6

baosheng said:


> Thank you all for your answers!
> 
> Might it be regional then? I think maybe 北方人 might say pian1 more often and 南方 pian4？



北方人 would say 恐怖片儿 

我是东部人， 也算南方人。但是我习惯说恐怖片（pian1）。


----------



## Razzle Storm

Green6 said:


> 北方人 would say 恐怖片儿
> 
> 我是东部人， 也算南方人。但是我习惯说恐怖片（pian1）。



Not everyone in the north adds an 儿 onto the end of everything, but yes, in the north it is more common to hear the 1st tone pronunciation of 片 when referring to a movie.


----------



## bamboobanga

I‘ve never heard of 恐惧片。。    it should be 恐怖片，and thriller movie is 惊悚片。


----------



## xiaolijie

Here's what I've got from some reputable dictionaries:

*恐怖片* [kǒngbùpiàn]
also 恐怖片儿(ｐｉāｎｒ) in 口语.


----------



## BODYholic

Ditto in Singapore. Most of us pronunce the 4th tone - pian4. But i vaguely recalled some radio/TV presenters used the first tone.

Also, I'm quite certain we don't say 恐惧片 here. The common words are 恐惧感/恐怖片.


posted via mobile


----------



## echo_zkl

xiaolijie said:


> Here's what I've got from some reputable dictionaries:
> 
> *恐怖片* [kǒngbùpiàn]
> also 恐怖片儿(ｐｉāｎｒ) in 口语.



What kinds of dictionary did you look up to? So far I never heard of kong3bu4pian4.


----------



## BODYholic

echo_zkl said:


> What kinds of dictionary did you look up to? So far I never heard of kong3bu4pian4.



www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/恐怖片/103912


posted via mobile


----------



## echo_zkl

BODYholic said:


> www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/恐怖片/103912
> 
> 
> posted via mobile



I would report this mistake to nciku if there's such a button.

Check out this dictionary,
http://www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE7Zdic89Zdic87.htm , under 其他字义


----------



## viajero_canjeado

What exactly do you mean when you say "if there's such a button"?



echo_zkl said:


> So far I never heard of kong3bu4pian4.



That doesn't mean it's wrong - it's merely not the common way to say it in your region. 其他口音採用其他發音系統；像在西班牙有[θ]這個聲音，但南北美洲平常只會發[s]而已(當然，在講西語時)。有些英國人會把[t]變成一個喉塞音，像"water"這個字。這些小變化沒什麼不對，而是反映我們多樣性就是了。


----------



## echo_zkl

viajero_canjeado said:


> What exactly do you mean when you say "if there's such a button"?



If there's a button on nciku website for visitors to report mistakes, I would click it. 

It could be right in Traditional Chinese (which I highly doubt) or other dialects, but nciku is an online putonghua dictionary. 

putonghua doesn't have so many varieties as English, in fact, 它是一套标准化的语言体系，规定了每个字如何发音。I am just one of billions of victims of putonghua study, people from regions other than Beijing would have a hard time pronouncing certain tones. It doesn't matter how it is pronounced in your region, as long as you don't speak like those broadcasters on CCTV(not closed circuit TV, but China Central Television), you're wrong... 

If a non-Chinese speaker tells me she/he likes kong3bu4pian4, I won't bother correcting her/him because I can understand it. But if she/he is taking a HSK test, I would suggest she/he go kong3bu4pian1.


----------



## xiaolijie

echo zkl, you talk as if it's already established that _kong3bu4pian1_ is the correct pronunciation but it's not so. Reading one or two sources may lead one to this kind of conclusions but if you read more, you will not be too sure. Have a look at post #3 above and you'll know why I'm saying this.


----------



## viajero_canjeado

echo_zkl said:


> It doesn't matter how it is pronounced in your region, as long as you don't speak like those broadcasters on CCTV(not closed circuit TV, but China Central Television), you're wrong...



If you perceive language only in relation to how news anchors use it or how a government expects it to be spoken, then I suppose you're right.

To me, though, that approach calls to mind an image of scientists viewing colorful gunk in a petri dish. I prefer to think of language in terms of a wonderfully nebulous entity which, despite being universally present, dares to defy our attempts at defining it and nailing it down.

Furthermore, when using a language, one should consider the surrounding environment. If everyone around you says something a certain way, then it's natural to emulate that. When in Rome, do as the Romans do! 入境隨俗。


----------



## BODYholic

echo_zkl said:


> I would report this mistake to nciku if there's such a button.


No there isn't any button or switch but there is a 'Send feedback' link right at the bottom. Please help yourself to it.



echo_zkl said:


> Check out this dictionary,
> http://www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE7Zdic89Zdic87.htm , under 其他字义


Please try to read the explanation in full. The link did not say "电影pian1" but "电影pian1儿". You read 'pian1' because it has to be 儿化. 

For regions which don't practice 儿化音, it is more natural to say "电影pian4".

奉劝别断章取义了。


----------



## BODYholic

echo_zkl said:


> putonghua doesn't have so many varieties as English, in fact, 它是一套标准化的语言体系，规定了每个字如何发音。I am just one of billions of victims of putonghua study, people from regions other than Beijing would have a hard time pronouncing certain tones. It doesn't matter how it is pronounced in your region, as long as you don't speak like those broadcasters on CCTV(not closed circuit TV, but China Central Television), *you're wrong*...



语言是会随着时间，环境，人为等因素而改变。你以普通话与北京播报员的发音挂钩，而断定前者是“错”的。如果我也以北京播报员的发音和唐/宋/元/明/清等老祖宗的做比较，那些播报员不是大错特错了吗？


----------



## Green6

BODYholic said:


> 语言是会随着时间，环境，人为等因素而改变。你以普通话与北京播报员的发音挂钩，而断定前者是“错”的。如果我也以北京播报员的发音和唐/宋/元/明/清等老祖宗的做比较，那些播报员不是大错特错了吗？



我觉得他讲的是有道理的。他所指的普通话应该是指在正式场合下使用的中国大陆标准语，也是中国大陆面向外国学生的汉语等级考试(HKS)中应该使用的标准语言，所以普通话必须有一个标准，不能够因为口语中的多样性和随意性就妥协，不然相应的评比和考试就无从说起了。

当然，如果你对“普通话”这个词汇有其他更宽广的定义，那你应该把这个范围给确认了，比如说在新加坡使用的标准中文，或者台湾使用的国语等等。


----------



## BODYholic

Green6 said:


> 我觉得他讲的是有道理的。



您是说如果新加坡人说话/发音不像CCTV播报员,那么我们就是他所谓的"wrong"了吗？

再说我实在搞不懂，他先说“putonghua是一套标准化的语言体系”. 然后再补上他本身也是学putonghua的受害者之一！是在影射“putonghua体系” 连CCTV播报员都不如吗？

什么跟什么...


----------



## echo_zkl

xiaolijie said:


> I'd go for "pian4" in this case (same as dong4hua4pain4, dian4shi4pian4, etc) but I have seen similar combinations that are read "pian1" (dian4jiao1pian1, dian4shi4xi4lie4pian1, etc.) To confuse matters further, I sometimes see the same combinations read as "pian1" by some and "pian4" by others





xiaolijie said:


> echo zkl, you talk as if it's already established that _kong3bu4pian1_ is the correct pronunciation but it's not so. Reading one or two sources may lead one to this kind of conclusions but if you read more, you will not be too sure. Have a look at post #3 above and you'll know why I'm saying this.



No, I didn't mean pian should be always pronounced as pian1. If that's what you perceived, I'm sorry for any misunderstanding caused.

This is what I was taught in my childhood. When 片 means “slice, sheet", it could be pronounced as pian4 or pian1. 
卡片pian4
相片could be both pian1 and pian4
影片could be both pian1 and pian4
but 动画片 pian1（http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/6/ZdicE5Zdic8AZdicA859630.htm）
恐怖片 pian1


----------



## echo_zkl

viajero_canjeado said:


> To me, though, that approach calls to mind an image of scientists viewing colorful gunk in a petri dish. I prefer to think of language in terms of a wonderfully nebulous entity which, despite being universally present, dares to defy our attempts at defining it and nailing it down.



I totally agree with you. In the journey of English study, this is exactly what encourages me to go further. Despite Chinese people speaking English are mocked for Chinglish, I'm proud that terms like "long time no see" became members in English family.

But still I would emphasize here that we have to follow certain rules of one specific language, otherwise we can go nowhere.


----------



## echo_zkl

BODYholic said:


> 您是说如果新加坡人说话/发音不像CCTV播报员,那么我们就是他所谓的"wrong"了吗？
> 
> 再说我实在搞不懂，他先说“putonghua是一套标准化的语言体系”. 然后再补上他本身也是学putonghua的受害者之一！是在影射“putonghua体系” 连CCTV播报员都不如吗？
> 
> 什么跟什么...



Sorry, it's 她


----------



## Green6

BODYholic said:


> 您是说如果新加坡人说话/发音不像CCTV播报员,那么我们就是他所谓的"wrong"了吗？
> 
> 再说我实在搞不懂，他先说“putonghua是一套标准化的语言体系”. 然后再补上他本身也是学putonghua的受害者之一！是在影射“putonghua体系” 连CCTV播报员都不如吗？
> 
> 什么跟什么...



Yes and no

如果一个人在说普通话时，对于一个字发音与CCAV的播报员有差别，那么按照中国大陆普通话等级考试的标准来说他就是错误的。这个应该没有什么疑问，我的母语是吴侬软语，我分辨in和ing，en与eng这两组前鼻音和后鼻音的时候有一定困难，我的某些普通话发音与CCAV的播报员肯定有区别，如果我参加汉语等级考试，一定会有很多错误。

但是这并不是说，我或者任何一位不能讲标准播音汉语的人说的汉语就是错误的。

这是我的理解。


----------



## Razzle Storm

viajero_canjeado said:


> If you perceive language only in relation to how news anchors use it or how a government expects it to be spoken, then I suppose you're right.
> 
> To me, though, that approach calls to mind an image of scientists viewing colorful gunk in a petri dish. I prefer to think of language in terms of a wonderfully nebulous entity which, despite being universally present, dares to defy our attempts at defining it and nailing it down.
> 
> Furthermore, when using a language, one should consider the surrounding environment. If everyone around you says something a certain way, then it's natural to emulate that. When in Rome, do as the Romans do! 入境隨俗。



That Chengyu is actually a perfect example of what you talk about in this post. I'd never heard 入境随俗 until I was talking with some Taiwanese friends, because on the mainland, it's 入乡随俗。 While 入境随俗 might not be in most online dictionaries I can find, I don't think anyone could ever consider it "wrong", because it's a change which has occurred in Taiwan, and is commonly used there.


----------



## Mugi

The situation regarding the pronunciation of 片 is actually very simple: in Modern Standard Chinese (普通话) it is prescribed as piàn. Any other pronunciation is dialect. The reason you get dictionaries that list piān as the pronunciation (or alternative pronunciation) is because the lexicographer has been unduly influenced by 北京话, which pronounces 片 as piānr (片儿) in the sense of "film". Recording the pronunciation as piān (without the rhotacization, 儿化) is misleading (although it's possible that some northern localities do pronounce it this way, but I would be suprised if that had an influence on the lexicography).


----------



## bamboobanga

hi i'm dropping by again to add that some people also use 鬼片 to refer to the movies that feature ghosts etc.  Also 悬疑片 to refer to the movies that feature an atmosphere of suspenses.


----------

