Re: Wade -> Pinyin transliteration (Unihan ?)

[Patrick Andries]

John Cowan wrote:

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Patrick Andries scripsit:

Let's assume I want to "transliterate" a large Wade-Giles database into 
pinyin. It this a purely algorithmic process? For all nouns ? Common and 
proper (cf.  Chiang Kai-Shek vs Jiang Jeshi )? Even for "dialectal" words?

"Chiang Kai-Shek" isn't Wade-Giles; it isn't even Mandarin.

I did mention "dialectal" forms (I believe final -k does no longer occur in Mandarin), I just wondered whether I would find such nouns (proper or common) in dictionary edited in Taiwan. I asked because I could see no algorithmic way of converting this name using traditional Wade to Pinyin tables.

Incidentally, if this is not Wade-Giles applied to a "dialectal" pronunciation, what is it? Geniously interested.

Patrick Andries

PS : Thank you for the National Library of Congress pointer.