Hello fellow Japanese learners here are some pitch accent otaku questions! When there are two pitch patterns listed for one word in the NHK dictionary, which one is considered the standard and which one is the modern way of pronouncing it? For example, for the word æ˜ ç”», the NHK dictionary indicates \[1\]\[0\]. If my memories are right, the second pitch pattern must be the most recent, but I’ve heard conflicting information about that. Additionally, for the word 衆生, the NHK dictionary indicates \[0\]\[1\], while other dictionaries such as 大辞林 and 新明解 list only \[0\]. Which source should I consider the most accurate? Looking forward for your answers!
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Usually the first accent listed is the most common one, however pitch accent is something that is constantly evolving and changing and dictionaries are much slower in updating their editions. IF you are using the old edition (199X-something) of the NHK pitch accent dictionary (which I think was the most common floating around on the net last time I checked), **a lot** of the accents will be outdated. The latest version (I think 2016?) should have fixed most of them, however even that one is already getting out of date since it came out 7 years ago. I can’t speak for 大辞林 and 新明解 but my general advice is to just check forvo.com and youglish for examples of native speakers using the words in context and not worry about it too much even if you get the accent wrong in a couple of words that have shifted over time.