The origin of the English word "TEA" for tea — In English, tea is called "TEA," and its name is similar in many other European languages. It is widely agreed that this pronunciation derived from the Fujian dialect's way of saying the character for "tea." From the Tang Dynasty, when the "Office of Maritime Trade" was established to manage import and export shipping, until the Ming Dynasty, the Fujian cities of Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Xiamen were thriving hubs for Chinese tea exports.

 

People in Fujian called tea "TEY" (similar to the sound "tie"). Following local custom, Western merchants who sailed to China for trade would buy large quantities of "TEY." Upon returning, they would tell others this product was called "TEY."

However, why is this item called "TEY" written in English as "TEA" and pronounced as "tee"?

 

According to scholars of historical pronunciation, the word "TEA" was formed in the 16th-17th centuries. At that time, the letters E and A were written together and read as a "diphthong," pronounced like "EY" (similar to the back-of-the-mouth sound "ay" in Chinese). Therefore, "TEA" was originally pronounced as "TEY." Evidence can be found in several lines from Shakespeare's plays, where words ending in "EA" rhyme with "EY."

 

 

Language also changes with the times.

Later, the English stopped pronouncing E-A as a diphthong, and the pronunciation "tee" became widespread.

Today, only the Irish maintain the ancient pronunciation, still saying "tay" even though the word is spelled "TEA."

 

Currently, Chinese tea is sold in over a hundred countries and regions across five continents. More than 50 countries have introduced Chinese tea seeds and plants, with tea gardens covering over 2.47 million hectares. Over 160 countries and regions have tea-drinking customs, with more than 2 billion tea drinkers worldwide. China's annual tea production in recent years has exceeded 2.86 million tons, with over one-third exported.

 

The birthplace of tea is in China's Yunnan Province, but the routes of tea dissemination to the world passed through the cities of Guangdong and Fujian. At the time, people in the Guangdong area pronounced tea as "CHA," while those in Fujian pronounced it as "TE." Guangdong's "CHA" spread overland to Eastern Europe, while Fujian's "TE" spread by sea to Western Europe.

The overland "CHA route":

Guangdong: cha

Beijing: cha

Japan: cha

Mongolia: chai

Tibet: ja

Iran: cha

Turkey: chay

Greece: te-ai

Arabia: chay

Russia: chai

Poland: chai

Portugal: cha

(Note: The following are the local pronunciations for tea.)

 

The maritime "TE route":

Fujian: te

Malay: the

Sri Lanka: they

South India: tey

Netherlands: thee

England: tea

Germany: tee

France: the

Italy: te

Spain: te

Denmark: te

Finland: tee

(Note: The following are the local pronunciations for tea.)

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