Anticipating the pronunciation of 為

[Tomsima]

As the title says, I was wondering if anyone here had any tips or tricks for the anticipation of whether 為 will be a second tone or a fourth tone. I am 100% clear of their different grammatical functions, I am more interested in knowing how others deal with reading this character aloud in an article.

 

As some people here know, I've just started an interpretation course in the uk and right now this is a bit of an embarrassing stumbling block for me. I can read long news reports out loud at speed, but as soon as I hit a 為 near the beginning of a sentence there's a big gap as I try to figure out what grammar role its taking.

 

How do others deal with this problem?

[Publius]

Haha, a tricky one.

How about this:

If there is a 所 in sight, then 爲 is wei2; otherwise there should be enough clues as to its reading, for example,

If at the beginning of a sentence, definitely wei4 (unless you're dealing with classical Chinese or chengyu, e.g. 爲政清廉, 爲人師表, 爲富不仁);

If followed by a verb or something inevitably leading to a verb, e.g. 爲在不遠的將來……, 爲更好地……, most certainly wei4;

If followed by a noun, look for 所;

Else ??

 

EDIT:

Sorry, now I see where the real confusion lies, lol

wei2: 爲女朋友所逼

wei4: 爲女朋友所作

 

 

[陳德聰]

I think you need to skim ahead a few blocks before you start. That’s the only way I can think of. If you can hone in on the verb and its actor then you should be good to go.

 

I don’t have any hard and fast tips, and this is sometimes a challenge for me too. Publius’s tips about what comes immediately before and after are good.

[Tomsima]

Just the kind of advice I was after, thanks, I'll be trying it out over the next few days (constantly it seems, so many articles to read right now).

[Tomsima]

Just thought I'd take the time to update on this. I have become aware that I don't consider this a big problem anymore. Judging which pronunciation it is still takes a second or two, but its no longer an embarrassing silence as I read ahead. I can usually just feel what it should be. I didn't specifically train this skill, I have just read A LOT of articles out loud over the last few months, and just as Publius said, a 為 at the beginning is almost always wei4. If it isnt, it will be obvious from context, even from the flow of ideas before you even get to the 為: I now find I frequently feel like I know what the writer might want to say, and sometimes even predict the 為 coming before it appears, as a stylistic trait of the genre I read in (current affairs, international relations, speech transcripts etc.) This takes the pressure off and I can just sound out a wei4 or wei2 based on prediction as soon as I do hit a 為. If I am wrong, it simply shows that I'm not fully following the implicit cues given by the author, and thus need to work on my overall comprehension in said area.

 

Interesting to think how this has just naturally happened without me specifically trying to learn this as a 'skill'.