As we sit and watch the closing Olympic ceremonies, I'm glad I will no longer have to listen to the numerous newscasters incorrectly pronounce the 2008 host city. I've heard it pronounced as both "bay-jing" and "bay-zhing," so which is correct?
If you were a Mandarin speaker, or went to China and asked a native speaker, they would tell you the correct pronunciation is- "bay-jing." If you wanted to get more technical, you would say "bay" with a falling then rising intonation, and "jing" with a level intonation.
It's Americans that add the "zh" sound- perhaps to make it sound like a foreign city? I'm not sure why, but at any rate, having lived their for a year, I used to be a temporary Beijinger. So now you know!
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