Etymology

Old National Pronunciation

Today it means: The national standard for the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese as used by the Republic of China from 1913 to 1932. Full definition →

Chinese 老國音 /老国音
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The story

  1. Chinese · calque of老國音 /老国音
  2. English todayOld National Pronunciation

Calque of Chinese 老國音 /老国音 (Lǎoguóyīn), from 老 (lǎo, “old; venerable”, honorific) + 國音 /国音 (guóyīn, “national pronunciation”). The term old does not refer to it being a historical standard, but was instead used contemporaneously as a way to promote the standard's legitimacy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.