Yuen Ren Chao

Yuen Ren Chao
趙元任
c. 1916 portrait of Chao
Born	(1892-11-03)3 November 1892 Tianjin, Qing dynasty
Died	25 February 1982(1982-02-25) (aged 89) Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Citizenship	China (1892–1982) United States (1954–1982)
Education	Cornell University (BA) Harvard University (PhD)
Known for	Chinese language reform
Works	"The Problem of the Chinese Language" (1916) Gwoyeu Romatzyh (1926) "Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den" (1930s) Mandarin Primer (1948) A Grammar of Spoken Chinese (1968)
Spouse	Buwei Yang Chao ​ ​ (m. 1921; died 1981)​
Scientific career
Fields	Dialectology, phonology
Institutions	University of California, Berkeley Harvard University Tsinghua University
Notable students	Jerry Norman Anne O. Yue-Hashimoto
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	趙元任
Simplified Chinese	赵元任
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhào Yuánrèn Bopomofo ㄓㄠˋ ㄩㄢˊ ㄖㄣˋ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jaw Yuanrenn Wade–Giles Chao4 Yüan2-jên4 Tongyong Pinyin Jhào Yuánrèn Yale Romanization Jàu Ywánrèn MPS2 Jàu Yuánrèn IPA [ʈʂâʊ ɥɛ̌n.ɻə̂n] Gan Romanization Ceu5 Ngion4 Nin5 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jiuh Yùhn-yahm Jyutping Ziu6 Jyun4-jam6 IPA [tsiːu˨ jyːn˩.jɐm˨] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiō Goân-jīm Tâi-lô Tiō Guân-jīm

Yuen Ren Chao (3 November 1892 – 25 February 1982), also known as Zhao Yuanren, was a Chinese-American linguist, educator, scholar, poet, and composer, who contributed to the modern study of Chinese phonology and grammar. Chao was born and raised in China, then attended university in the United States, where he earned degrees from Cornell University and Harvard University. A naturally gifted polyglot and linguist, his Mandarin Primer was one of the most widely used Mandarin Chinese textbooks in the 20th century. He invented the Gwoyeu Romatzyh romanization scheme, which, unlike pinyin and other romanization systems, transcribes Mandarin Chinese pronunciation without diacritics or numbers to indicate tones.