OK, it's true, apparently the latest edition of the book (6th, published 9/2006) reverts to Pinyin. In China though, it's the weird Lonely Planet phonetics, Beijing-speak 5th edition that's languishing on shelves in foreign language bookstores and I guess that's what the OP got hold of.
I noticed Berlitz has made a move into China as well and is dumping their phrasebooks and mini-courses in Xinhua bookstores...their Chinese phrasebook also uses a non-standard romanization.
10
chengdude
12
yubyub41
Buying the LP phrasebook was a waste of $$$ for me.
I had better luck combining the more useful sentences at the back of the LP China Guide with a Pinyin-English dictionary.
13
kakey78
OK guys :) I have found the best book ever!! If you're planning on spending a decent amount of time in Beijing, the Immersion guide is awesome! They have it advertised on www.thatsbj.com. You can buy it from the bookworm in Beijing and it's entertaining, it has pinyin and hanzi and english (at it's best), cultural tips and pretty pictures to boot. It's got sections on looking for an apartment etc etc and lots of other useful tidbits. I agree the newer versions of the LP have been disappointing and not much help. I have an older version i used in 2002/2003 and I'm not letting it out of my sight. But.. this new immersion guide is also fabulous. Also check out www.chinesepod.com for a few MP3's to take with you.
Cheers.
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Lonely Planet
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