quick question - tone for 载in 加载and下载

[md1101]

wenlin does not have 加载. adsotrans gives the tones as jia1zai3 and xia4zai3

but wenlin gives the tones for xiazai as xia4zai4

so is the 载 3rd or 4th tone?

cheers.

[gougou]

In the third tone, it means to write down (as in [pop=write down/jìzǎi]记载[/pop]). In the fourth tone, it means something like to transport, which is the usage required by the two words you mentioned. So it should be xia4zai4 and jia1zai4.

[md1101]

thanks gougou... if there is a method maybe someone can correct the entry on adsotrans.

[zhwj]

Quick survey reveals that here in the small-town Liaoning, 下载 is pronounced xiàzǎi, even though meaning of 载 is as if it carried a 4th tone. The same folks pronounce 超载 and 过载 with a 3d tone; 载 seems to be 4th tone only when it's the first syllable.

I don't think I've heard xiàzài at all, either in the northeast or in Beijing. It sounds like one of those tricky questions you'd find on a 高考 word section, where no one actually pronounces things like they are supposed to.

[gougou]

That's right, I remember being quite surprised when reading that it was supposed to be a fourth tone. But I just assumed that it was pronounced as neutral.

Thinking about it, maybe your explanation makes more sense - just recently a Chinese tried to convince me that [pop=plastics/sùliào]塑料[/pop] was supposed to be pronounced suo4liao4...

[trevelyan]

if there is a method maybe someone can correct the entry on adsotrans.

I've also always heard the character pronounced 3rd tone. We don't really have a clear policy on this sort of "usage" vs. "formality" for entries for the database, but it probably makes sense to err on the side of convention, and note alternate common usage in the definition space.

Anyway, have just made the edit to the backend database, and reviewed other entries with the character. In the future, anyone can do this by using the advanced editing interface at the following URL. In cases like this where we have potential complications involving duoyinci though, please bring the issue to my attention through email so we can check database-wise. Almost missed this thread....

http://www.adsotrans.com/adso/uniedit.pl