Category: Experiences

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Culture Experiences History Science Theocratic

jiéle hūn

jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

A few years back, I wrote up a brief web page listing reasons for producing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), etc. material for the Imitate (ia) book. Some, especially some who grew up in the West, may have felt that this book is made up of “just stories”, and ones that they were already quite familiar with, at that. However, we must remember that Chinese Bible students may often have a different perspective regarding the Bible accounts that are made to come to life in the Imitate book. As that web page said:

  • Many Chinese people in the world have not been exposed to Bible accounts the way many Westerners have.
  • Also, I have heard that some, perhaps many, Chinese Bible students tend to approach their Bible studies like intellectual exercises for accumulating chōuxiàng (abstract) head knowledge as if for a school exam, rather than as training for their hearts for their own real lives.

Later, the web page touches on how some of the real-world benefits of good storytelling like that found in the Imitate book involve empathy:

  • …
    • The actress Natalie Portman once said, “I love acting. I think it’s the most amazing thing to be able to do. Your job is practicing empathy. You walk down the street imagining every person’s life.”
  • The Imitate book helps build Bible students’ empathy towards Bible characters, which in turn helps Bible students realize that others would feel empathy towards them as well if they imitated these Bible characters—not everyone will just think they’re crazy, like many worldly friends or family members might think.

While even fictional stories can have the benefits described in the links and the quote above, true stories from the Bible can have even greater benefits, including spiritual ones.

Besides the Imitate book, another book from Jehovah’s organization that relates Bible accounts is the Learn From the Bible (lfb) book. The letter from the Governing Body in this book says that, similarly to the Imitate book, the Learn From the Bible book also “brings the Bible accounts to life and captures the feelings of those depicted”, while, unlike the Imitate book, it “tells the story of the human family from creation onward”. While the Learn From the Bible book is especially suitable for children, the letter from the Governing Body in this book says that “it can also be used to help adults who desire to learn more about the Bible”. So, it would be good to consider on this blog some of the expressions used in the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book.

Moses Tied the Knot

This week’s MEotW, “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])”, appears at the beginning of Lesson 18 of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book, which is entitled “Ránshāo (Rán·shāo Ignited · {to Be Burning} 燃烧 燃燒) de (’s 的) Jīngjí Cóng ((Jīng·jí Brambles · Thorns 荆棘 荊棘) (Cóng Clump 丛 叢) → [Bush])” (“The Burning Bush”):

English:

Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. He got married and had children.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Móxī (Moses 摩西) zài (in 在) Mǐdiàn (Midian 米甸) shēnghuóle (shēnghuó·le lived · {to completion} 生活了) 40 nián (years 年 年/秊), tā (he 他) jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [got married]), yě (also 也) yǒule (yǒu·le had · {to completion} 有了) háizi (hái·zi children · [suf for nouns] 孩子).

The Mandarin Learn From the Bible book here uses “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])” to correspond with the English expression “got married”. “Jiéle hūn ((Jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])” is the past participle of “jiéhūn (jié·hūn {tie (a knot of)} · {marrying → [marriage]} → [marry; get married] 结婚 結婚)”, which corresponds to “get married” in English. Interestingly, while in English “tie the knot” can mean “get married”, “jiéhūn (jié·hūn {tie (a knot of)} · {marrying → [marriage]} → [marry; get married] 结婚 結婚)” literally means “tie (a/the) knot of marrying”.

Morphemic Breakdown

The “jié ({tie [(a knot of)]}; knit; weave; [→ [congeal; form; forge; cement | join together; bind; connect; unite | settle; conclude]] | {tying (of a knot)} → [knot | (electrical) junction | node | written guarantee; affidavit; bond] 结 結)” in “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])” basically means “to tie”, and based on that, it can have a variety of effective meanings in different contexts. For example, a common expression in which it appears is “jiéguǒ (jié·guǒ {tied (into a knot) → [formed]} · fruit → [result | as a result] 结果 結果)”, which literally means “tied (into a knot) (i.e., formed) fruit”, and which effectively means “result”, or “as a result”.

As for the “hūn (wedding; marrying; {getting married} [→ [marriage; wedding]] 婚)” in “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])”, it’s basically a verb that means “to wed” or “to marry”. It’s often used as a verbal noun, or gerundial noun, as it is in “hūnyīn (hūn·yīn {marrying → [marriage]} · marriage → [marriage; matrimony] 婚姻)”.

What About the “Le”?

Okay, but what about the “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)” in “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])”? The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, says that when “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)” is used this way, it’s an aspect marker. What’s that? The ABC Chinese-English Dictionary explains it like this:

A.M. (Aspect Marker, Tǐbiāojì 体标记).

Aspect means the stage of completion of an action. Chinese usually uses verbal suffixes as a means of indicating this information. Examples of Chinese aspect include the:

(i) durative (action in progress, much like ‘-ing’ in English), e.g., zhe in kànzhe ‘is watching’;

(ii) perfective (completed action), e.g., le in ànle wǔ ge diànyǐng, ‘saw five movies’; and

(iii) experiential (much like the ‘ever’ in the question ‘Have you ever . . . ?’), e.g., guo in jiànguo tā ‘have met him before’.

Note that aspect is not the same thing as tense. Tense refers to when the action takes place relative to when the utterance is actually spoken, and so at most any language can have only three tenses: past, present and future. Aspect, on the other hand, can occur in any tense, so that even completed action can be spoken of in the

(a) past, e.g., Tā zuótiān dàole Běijn̄g ‘He arrived in Beijing yesterday’;

(b) present, e.g., Tā xiànzài dàole Běijīng ‘He has now arrived in Beijing’; or

(c) future, e.g., Tā míngtiān zhèige shíhou yǐjing dàole Běijīng ‘He will already have arrived in Beijing by this time tomorrow’.

(See also M.P. for usage of le as a sentence-final particle.)

(“M.P.” is this dictionary’s abbreviation for “modal particle”, which is what “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)” is when it’s at the end of a phrase or sentence (and thus followed immediately by a punctuation mark). More information on modal particles can be found on this list that’s in alphabetical order.)

When Should There Be a Space Before “Le”?

Different publications follow different rules about when to put a space before “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)” when it appears in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text. Even the PRC government’s official national standard (actually, it’s a set of recommendations) for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography, GB/T 16159-2012, is not as clear, precise, and thorough as one might wish in this regard. (GB/T 16159-2012 is discussed in more detail in the MEotW post on “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)”.)

When it comes to when to put a space before “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)” in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material follows the guidelines put forth in this excerpt (available from this page on pinyin.info) from the book Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography, by Yin Binyong and Mary Felley:

_Pīnyīn_ orthography rules for “le (了)”, 1st page, from the book _Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography_

_Pīnyīn_ orthography rules for “le (了)”, 2nd page, from the book _Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography_

_Pīnyīn_ orthography rules for “le (了)”, 3rd page, from the book _Chinese Romanization: Pronunciation and Orthography_

(The highlights were added by me. Note that this book calls “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)”, as used in “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])”, a “tense particle”, or a “tense-marking particle”. Also, its term for “modal particle” is “mood particle”.)

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Learn From the Bible book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Learn From the Bible book is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

Categories
Culture Experiences History Language Learning Languages

jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng

jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng ((jī chicken 鸡 雞/鷄)‐(tóng {together with} 同 同/仝)‐(yā duck 鸭 鴨)‐(jiǎng speaking 讲 講) → [people not understanding each other because of speaking different languages (from Cantonese)]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Yes, this expression comes from Cantonese, but the above Mandarin version does appear in Mandarin dictionaries, so it qualifies as a Mandarin expression!]

Recently, while out to dinner with one of the first families to serve in the local Cantonese congregation, along with the circuit overseer serving the local Chinese circuit and his wife, the subject came up of how Mandarin and Cantonese are actually different languages, not just dialects of the same language.

Chickens Talking with Ducks

The wife of the circuit overseer asked what the difference is between a language and a dialect. So, I proceeded to explain something that is emphasized by American sinologist and University of Pennsylvania Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Victor H. Mair, that a primary way accepted by most linguists to distinguish a language from a dialect is mutual intelligibility, as is discussed in this excerpt from the MEotW post on “fāngyán (fāng·yán {direction → [place]} · speech → [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)] 方言)”:

It has been said that “a language is a dialect with an army and navy”, but in his article Professor Mair gives us a more linguistically correct and useful way to distinguish between a language and a dialect:

Regardless of the imprecision of lay usage, we should strive for a consistent means of distinguishing between language and dialect. Otherwise we might as well use the two terms interchangeably. That way lies chaos and the collapse of rational discourse. Mutual intelligibility [emphasis added] is normally accepted by most linguists as the only plausible criterion for making the distinction between language and dialect in the vast majority of cases. Put differently, no more suitable, workable device for distinguishing these two levels of speech has yet been proposed. If there are to be exceptions to the useful principle of mutual intelligibility, there should be compelling reasons for them. Above all, exceptions should not be made the rule.

What is mutual intelligibility? Simply put, in linguistics, two or more speech varieties are said to be mutually intelligible if they are “able to be understood by one another’s speakers”. For example, if one person only knows English, and another person only knows Spanish, they can’t really understand each other if they try to talk to each other—English and Spanish are not mutually intelligible, and are suitably recognized as being different languages, not just different dialects of “European”.

Similarly, if one person only knows Mandarin, and another person only knows Cantonese, they can’t really understand each other if they try to talk to each other—Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible. So, while they may be “fāngyán (fāng·yán {direction → [place]} · {(patterns of) speech} 方言)”, linguistically, Mandarin and Cantonese should really be considered to be different languages, not just different dialects of “Chinese”.

Indeed, I have heard people use this week’s MEotW, “jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng ((jī chicken 鸡 雞/鷄)‐(tóng {together with} 同 同/仝)‐(yā duck 鸭 鴨)‐(jiǎng speaking 讲 講) → [people not understanding each other because of speaking different languages (from Cantonese)])”, to specifically describe Mandarin-speakers and Cantonese-speakers trying to talk to each other, and not understanding each other. 🐓 🦆

After I explained the gist of the above, one of the daughters of the family at the dinner—who had been labouring for decades under the misconception that Mandarin and Cantonese are just dialects and that someone who knows one can easily learn the other—said, “Now I don’t feel like an idiot.”

Uncommon Knowledge?

It could be said that ones such as this family and this circuit overseer and his wife, who have all worked so hard and served for so long in the Chinese language fields, should already have known such a basic thing about the Chinese languages. However, the following things are unfortunately true:

  • Even publishers who are learning a language to serve in that language’s field generally consider such linguistic (language science) knowledge to be specialized technical knowledge that is beyond what they need to learn, and possibly beyond what they could even comprehend.
  • Western-educated publishers learning a Chinese language may unwittingly go along with the Western worldly tendency to exoticize things related to China. (John DeFrancis, in his book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy (p. 37), calls this “Exotic East Syndrome”.) They may be content with—or even enjoy—the alluring veil of mystery and mystique surrounding certain things related to China and Chinese culture. Thus, they don’t seek to learn about and understand deeper truths about such things, that may pierce through this obscuring veil, and burst this bubble.—Compare 2 Corinthians 3:14, including the margin note.
  • The central ruling authorities of China have long actively promoted the scientifically incorrect idea that the different varieties of speech in China are just dialects of the one Chinese language. This idea is political propaganda supporting the idea that it’s good for there to be central ruling authorities in China.
  • Traditional worldly Chinese language instructors and others who are knowledgeable about Chinese languages and Chinese characters are eager to promote and perpetuate the traditional thinking about Chinese languages and characters, that they have invested so much time and effort in, and that they are so proud of.
  • Chinese-educated publishers who are already steeped in the traditional ideas about Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc., and who are thus lauded and deferred to as experts by other publishers, may be eager to simply unquestioningly pass on the cultural knowledge and ideas that they were taught, and that they are lauded and respected for.
  • The Bible makes it clear that Satan the Devil is “a liar and the father of the lie”. It also describes him as “the great dragon…who is misleading the entire inhabited earth”. So, while we can only speculate about the details of what strings are purposely pulled in the spirit realm by Satan and his demons as opposed to what human folly they simply passively observe, we can be sure that Satan is delighted with all the ways in which people are misled in and about the Chinese culture, in which the dragon is considered a positive, revered symbol.—John 8:44; Revelation 12:9.

So, for reasons such as the above, even the basic linguistic truth that Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc. actually function as different languages is unfortunately not yet common knowledge among those serving in the Chinese fields. As the saying goes, which some say is a Chinese proverb, “error will travel over half the globe, while truth is pulling on her boots”.

Jesus said, though, that true worshippers worship “with spirit and truth”, and that “the truth will set you free”. With regard to Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc., the truth about them can even set one free from unnecessarily feeling like an “idiot”, as the sister mentioned above so eloquently put it, because of labouring under all the political propaganda, traditions, and other kinds of misinformation and wrong thinking that unfortunately surround Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc.—John 4:23; 8:32.

Huge Worldwide Effects

In addition to being hugely freeing for individual language learners, spreading the truth about the Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc. is also important on a larger scale, since the worldwide Mandarin field, for one, is the largest language field in the world, and probably the largest language field that has ever existed in human history. For comparison, according to Ethnologue, a resource on world languages, the worldwide Mandarin field (those worldwide whose mother tongue is Mandarin) is about twice the size of the second largest worldwide language field, the Spanish field, and it’s about two and a half times the size of the third largest worldwide language field, the English field. Allowing various untruths to continue to divert and bog down the language-learning efforts of those who come to help in the worldwide Mandarin field can have incalculable overall negative effects on the preaching work in this enormous field.

So, even as we hang on to Bible truth, let us also hang on to the linguistic truths that we learn, and let us do what we can to share them with our fellow workers in the vast worldwide Chinese fields.

Categories
Culture Experiences Theocratic

rénwù shēngpíng

rénwù shēngpíng ((rén·wù person · thing → [personage] 人物) (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [whole life] 生平) → [life story]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The new format of the Enjoy Life Forever! book, which incorporates post-paper technologies like video, enables the inclusion of a type of content that past publications used for Bible studies could not include—life stories. For example, the video for Lesson 04, point 5 of the Enjoy Life Forever! book, entitled My Search for the True God, contains the life story of Soten Yoeun, who endured many hardships but eventually found the true God Jehovah.

In the Mandarin version of this video, the expression “rénwù shēngpíng ((rén·wù person · thing → [personage] 人物) (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [whole life] 生平) → [life story])” is used to correspond with the expression “life story” that is used in the English version of the video. (A Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus transcript for the Mandarin version of this video is available here.)

A Mandarin Personage

“Rénwù (Rén·wù person · thing → [character; personage; figure] 人物)”, which literally means “person thing”, can mean “character; personage; figure”. For example, “Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) rénwù (rén·wù person · thing → [character] 人物)” has been used to correspond with “Bible character”, that is, a person depicted in the Bible. For example, “A Letter From the Governing Body” in the Mandarin version of the Learn From the Bible book uses this expression in this way.

What, though, shall we make of “shēngpíng (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [[one’s] whole life] 生平)”? While “shēng ({give birth to}/{was given birth to}; {give life to} | grow | exist; live | {[is] living}; {[is] alive} | {[is] unripe} | {[is] raw}; {[is] uncooked} | {[is] unfamiliar}; {[is] strange} | {[is] unprocessed}; {[is] crude} | existence; life; living | {be afflicted with}; get; have | very; keenly; much | pupil; student; scholar | [n suf used in names of occupations] 生)” can mean many different things, here it obviously means “life”, that is, a life or lifetime. It’s less obvious, though, how “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” fits into this expression.

On the Level

The “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” in question literally means “[is] flat; level; even”. What, though, does that have to do with one’s rénwù shēngpíng ((rén·wù person · thing → [personage] 人物) (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [whole life] 生平) → [life story]), one’s life story?

Perhaps we can get some clues by considering how “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” is used in other expressions. For example, another expression that contains “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” is “tiānpíng (tiān·píng heaven’s · {(being) level} → [balance; scales (to weigh things)] 天平)”, which means a balance or a set of scales used to weigh things.

Yet another expression with “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” in it, that may help us understand how “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” functions in “shēngpíng (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [[one’s] whole life] 生平)”, is “shuǐpíng (shuǐ·píng water · {(being) level} → [standard; level; proficiency] 水平)”. This word is used to refer to a standard or level (of quality, achievement, etc.).

Considering the above examples, it seems that “shēngpíng (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [[one’s] whole life] 生平)” is used to mean the “level” achieved over the entire course of a life. From a negative point of view, this could involve passing judgment or competitively comparing achievements as if life were but a game. However, from a more positive and charitable point of view, considering one’s “shēngpíng (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [[one’s] whole life] 生平)” could involve recognition of what one was able to accomplish over the course of one’s life.

(By the way, it may also be worth noting that the “píng ({[being] flat, level, even} [→ [[being] peaceful; calm | peace | [being] equal; fair; just | standard; level]] | {make [to be] flat, level, even} [→ [make peace; pacify; calm down]] 平)” in “rénwù shēngpíng ((rén·wù person · thing → [personage] 人物) (shēng·píng life · {(being) level} → [whole life] 生平) → [life story])” is also used in “píng’ān (píng’·ān {[is] flat, level, even → [[is] peaceful]} · {[is] safe, secure} (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to things being smooth and stable, safe and secure, free of danger) 平安)” and in “hépíng (hé·píng {[is/being] (together) with (one another)} · {[is/being] flat, level, even} → [peace | [is] peaceful | peacefully (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict)] 和平)”. These expressions were discussed in the MEotW post on “hémù ({[is] harmonious} 和睦)”.)

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.