Category: Names

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Fēixíng Móshì

Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) ← 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.]

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Hùdòng Shì Shèngjīng Kèchéng ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Hù·dòng {Each Other} · Moving → [Interactive] 互动 互動) (Shì (Type 式) (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)) book. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

Airplane Mode—the Video

This week’s MEotW, “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])”, occurs in subtitle 51 of the transcript for the video for lesson 11, point 4 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

For me personally, then, it’s really helpful when I put my phone in airplane mode so that I can really focus on what I’m reading and nothing can distract me.

Mandarin:

50
00:02:02,401 → 00:02:04,319
📖 📄 📘 suǒyǐ (suǒ·yǐ {that which} · {is the reason} → [so] 所以) wǒ (I 我) yándú (yán·dú {grind → [study]} · read 研读 研讀) de (’s 的) shíhou ({(particular) times} 时候 時候)

51
00:02:04,319 → 00:02:06,947
📖 📄 📘 huì (will 会 會) xiān (first 先) bǎ (hold 把) shǒujī (shǒu·jī hand · machine → [mobile/cellular/portable phone] 手机 手機) tiáodào (tiáo·dào {to be adjusted} · {to arrive at → [to]} 调到 調到) Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]).

52
00:02:06,947 → 00:02:08,949
📖 📄 📘 Zhèyàng (Zhè·yàng this · {form → [way]} 这样 這樣) jiù ({(I) then} 就) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) bǎochí (bǎo·chí protect · hold → [keep] 保持) zhuānzhù ({being focused} 专注 專注),

53
00:02:08,949 → 00:02:11,035
📖 📄 📘 bú (not 不) shòu ({being subjected to} 受) dǎrǎo (dǎ·rǎo {striking of → [causing of]} · disturbing 打扰 打擾) de (-ly 地) yándú (yán·dú {grind → [study]} · read 研读 研讀) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) le ([(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了).

As Apples Support’s web page explains, “You can use Airplane Mode to turn off the wireless features on your device while you’re flying in an airplane.”

The Airplane Mode button in Control Center (iPhone, iOS 17.4.1)

The Airplane Mode button in Control Center (iPhone, iOS 17.4.1)

“Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” is indeed the official Mandarin translation of “Airplane Mode” that Apple uses on its China website (USA page, China page). And yes, Android also has an “airplane mode/Airplane mode”. (Its official documentation uses both capitalization styles.) Additionally, “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” is also the official Mandarin translation of “airplane mode/Airplane mode” in the Simplified Chinese version of Google’s official documentation.

“Airplane Mode” Components

In “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])”, “fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]} 飞 飛)” means “flying”. “Fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]} 飞 飛)” also appears in “fēijī (fēi·jī flying · machine → [aircraft; airplane] 飞机 飛機)”, which means “airplane”, but which, interestingly, is not used in the Mandarin expression corresponding to “Airplane Mode”. Instead, the expression that is used comes from combining “fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]} 飞 飛)” with “xíng (go; walk; travel [→ [do; perform; carry out; engage in; exercise | be current; prevail; circulate | behaviour; conduct; deeds | [is] alright; [is] acceptable | [is] capable; [is] competent | [is] temporary; [is] makeshift | soon]] 行)”, which in this context means “travelling”. The result is “fēixíng (fēi·xíng flying · going; walking; travelling → [flying | flight] 飞行 飛行)”, which effectively means “flying” or “flight”. So, the Mandarin expression for “Airplane Mode” on a more literal level actually means “Flying Mode”, or “Flight Mode”.

That brings us to “móshì (mó·shì model; pattern; standard · type; style; pattern; form; mode → [model; pattern; schema; mode] 模式)”, which in “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” is used to effectively mean “mode”. The first morpheme in this expression, “mó (pattern; standard; model; example | imitate 模)”, can mean “model”. (In fact, “nánmó (nán·mó male · model 男模)” means “male model”.) The other morpheme, “shì (type; style; pattern; form; formula; mode 式)”, can mean “style” or “mode”.

Airplane Mode Culture

A number of bands have been named after Airplane Mode, including this one that’s steeped in Apple culture in other ways as well, such as most of its members having been involved in Apple ecosystem app development, and this one from Australia that uses the Australian spelling “Aeroplane Mode”. (Interestingly, Apple Support’s Australia page for Airplane Mode uses the spelling “Aeroplane Mode”, while its UK page and Canada page use the American spelling “Airplane Mode”.)

Yes, Airplane Mode, along with mobile devices in general, are now so much a part of modern everyday life and culture that the organization mentioned them in a video about Bible reading. (This occurrence of “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) → [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])” in the Enjoy Life Forever! book material is not the first one in the organization’s published material either—the RTE entry for this expression refers to an occurrence of it in “tv.jw.org 2018-04 46:33-35”.) So, it would be good for us Mandarin field language learners to know how to talk in Mandarin about Airplane Mode and other things related to mobile devices too, even those of us who can still remember when the (emotionally vehement!) view of many was that only Bibles printed on paper were real Bibles!

For convenience:

The direct link for the 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.

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Culture History Language Learning Languages Names Science

Yuèyǔ

Yuèyǔ (Yuè·yǔ Yue · Language [→ [Cantonese]] 粤语 粵語) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

This week’s MEotW, “Yuèyǔ (Yuè·yǔ Yue · Language [→ [Cantonese]] 粤语 粵語)”, is a term that over the years one may occasionally have come across in the Chinese fields. For example, it used to be used on publication download pages on jw.org, where it has been replaced by a term that is more familiar to many: “Guǎngdōnghuà (Guǎng·dōng·huà {Wide · East → [Canton]} · Speech → [Cantonese speech/language] 广东话 廣東話)” (“Cantonese”).

The Language(s)

Regarding “Yuèyǔ (Yuè·yǔ Yue · Language [→ [Cantonese]] 粤语 粵語)”, the Wikipedia article on Yue Chinese provides this summary:

Yue (Cantonese pronunciation: [jyːt̚˨]) is a branch of the Sinitic languages primarily spoken in Southern China, particularly in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang).

The term Cantonese is often used to refer to the whole branch, but linguists prefer to reserve the name Cantonese for the variety used in Guangzhou (Canton), Wuzhou (Ngchow), Hong Kong and Macau, which is the prestige dialect of the group. Taishanese, from the coastal area of Jiangmen (Kongmoon) located southwest of Guangzhou, was the language of most of the 19th-century emigrants from Guangdong to Southeast Asia and North America. Most later migrants have been speakers of Cantonese.

Yue varieties are not mutually intelligible with other varieties of Chinese,[source] and they are not mutually intelligible within the Yue family either.[source]

This Wikipedia page also cites Ethnologue as saying that the number of native speakers worldwide of Yuèyǔ (Yuè·yǔ Yue · Language [→ [Cantonese]] 粤语 粵語) was recently about “86 million (2022)[source]”. That’s not as many as Mandarin has (no other language/language branch currently has as many native speakers as Mandarin does), but that’s still a lot of people.

Regarding how Cantonese relates to other Chinese speech varieties, note the following excerpt from the MEotW post on “yǔzú (yǔ·zú language · {ethnic group → [group of things with common characteristics] → [group]} 语族 語族)”:

It’s interesting to note that according to Prof. [Victor H.] Mair’s article (p. 737) mentioned above, not only are Mandarin and Cantonese separate languages (not just “dialects”), it would be more accurate to consider them to be in separate language branches, as defined by the language classisification scheme he uses:

Cantonese and Mandarin are separate languages. Cantonese is not a ‘dialect’ of Mandarin or of Hanyu, and it is grossly erroneous to refer to it as such. Since Cantonese and Mandarin are separate languages (or, perhaps more accurately, separate branches), it is wrong to refer to them as ‘dialects.’ The same holds for Hokkien, Shanghainese, and so forth.

That Mandarin and Cantonese should really be considered to be in separate language branches emphasizes to us politically neutral Mandarin field language-learners that we must not repeat or be misled by the politically motivated erroneous assertion that Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc. are just dialects of “Chinese”. That might be even more wrong than saying that English, French, Spanish, etc. are just dialects of “European”!

Some Geography

To clarify regarding some of the places related to “Yuèyǔ (Yuè·yǔ Yue · Language [→ [Cantonese]] 粤语 粵語)”:

  • Guǎngdōng (Guǎng·dōng Wide · East → [Guangdong (Canton) Province] 广东 廣東)
  • Guǎngzhōu (Guǎng·zhōu Wide · Prefecture → [Guangzhou (Canton (city))] 广州 廣州)
    • This is the capital city of Guǎngdōng (Guǎng·dōng Wide · East → [Guangdong (Canton) Province] 广东 廣東) province.
  • Guǎngxī (Guǎng·xī Wide · West → [Guangxi (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)] 广西 廣西)
    • This is an autonomous region that’s located just to the west of Guǎngdōng (Guǎng·dōng Wide · East → [Guangdong (Canton) Province] 广东 廣東).

Some History

This summary from the Wikipedia article on Baiyue provides us with some historical background:

The Baiyue, Hundred Yue, or simply Yue, were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of Southern China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD.[source][source][source] They were known for their short hair, body tattoos, fine swords, and naval prowess.

…

The Yue tribes were gradually displaced or assimilated into Chinese culture as the Han empire expanded into what is now Southern China and Northern Vietnam.[source][source][source][source] Many modern southern Chinese dialects bear traces of substrate languages[citation needed] originally spoken by the ancient Yue. Variations of the name are still used for the name of modern Vietnam [Yuènán (Yuè·nán Yue · South → [Vietnam] 越南)], in Zhejiang-related names including Yue opera, the Yue Chinese language, and in the abbreviation for Guangdong.

…

The modern term “Yue” (traditional Chinese: 越、粵; simplified Chinese: 越、粤; pinyin: Yuè; Cantonese Jyutping: Jyut6; Wade–Giles: Yüeh4; Vietnamese: Việt; Early Middle Chinese: Wuat) comes from Old Chinese *ɢʷat.[source] It was first written using the pictograph 戉 for an axe (a homophone), in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions of the late Shang dynasty (c. 1200 BC), and later as 越.[source]

Is Cantonese Only Spoken?

Native Cantonese speakers I have known, like those in the Cantonese congregation that I used to be in, would tell me that the Cantonese we spoke was spoken Chinese, and that the Chinese in the official publications of the time, which was different in some ways from spoken Cantonese, was written Chinese. However, as I gained more knowledge about the history and the language situation of China, I came to understand that actually, the Chinese writing in the publications we were using was Mandarin, which was used because Mandarin-speaking people had gained political power in China, resulting in Chinese publications generally being published in Mandarin—it wasn’t a matter of spoken and written Chinese being different, but rather, of Cantonese and Mandarin being different.

Eventually, the organization came to also publish publications written in other Chinese varieties in addition to Mandarin. As of this writing, searching for “Chinese” on jw.org results in the following options, which includes Cantonese options:

Chinese varieties on jw.org as of 2024-04-14

Something to Remember

This week’s MEotW, “Yuèyǔ (Yuè·yǔ Yue · Language [→ [Cantonese]] 粤语 粵語)”, reminds us that while the central government of China wants everyone to just think of China as one monolithic political entity that should be governed by them, the central government, modern China actually is made up of many different parts. If it wasn’t for Qín Shǐhuáng ((Qín {Qin (dynasty)} 秦) (Shǐ·huáng Beginning · Emperor 始皇) (the founder of the Qín dynasty and the first emperor of China)) (Wikipedia article), who (rather forcefully) united several warring states and became the first emperor of China, China could have ended up like modern Europe, with its several independent nations.

These different parts of modern China, that in an alternate timeline could have become independent nations, each have their own history, including their own linguistic history—just like modern France, Spain, Germany, etc. have historically had their own mutually unintelligible languages, modern Guǎngdōng (Guǎng·dōng Wide · East → [Guangdong (Canton) Province] 广东 廣東), Shànghǎi (Shàng·hǎi Upon · {the Sea} → [Shanghai] 上海), Fújiàn (Fú·jiàn {Blessing (abbr. for the city name Fúzhōu)} · {Established (abbr. for the city name Jiànzhōu)} → [Fujian (Province)] 福建), etc. also have historically had their own mutually unintelligible languages, even if China’s central government would like everyone to just (erroneously) call them dialects of “Chinese”. This reality of China’s many mutually unintelligible languages is being emphasized, not for any political purpose, but rather, to help us language learners in the Chinese fields to be equipped with the truth as we try to make practical progress in learning and using Chinese languages to spread our God-honouring and life-saving message.

Categories
Culture Current Events History Language Learning Names Science

Bālèsītǎnrén

Bālèsītǎnrén (Bālèsītǎn·rén Palestinian · {people | person[s] | man/men} 巴勒斯坦人) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the video “Can Love Conquer Hatred?” The introductory text for the Mandarin version of this video uses this week’s MEotW, “Bālèsītǎnrén (Bālèsītǎn·rén Palestinian · {people | person[s] | man/men} 巴勒斯坦人)”, to translate “Palestinians”:

English:

Despite the long history of violent hatred between Jews and Palestinians, some of them have successfully uprooted prejudice from their hearts. Meet two of them.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Yóutàirén (Yóutài·rén Jewish · people 犹太人 猶太人) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) Bālèsītǎnrén (Bālèsītǎn·rén Palestinian · people 巴勒斯坦人) yǒuzhe (yǒu·zhe having · {have been being} → [have been having] 有着 有着/著) xuèhǎi (xuè·hǎi blood · sea → [sea of blood] 血海)‐shēnchóu (shēn·chóu deep · hatred 深仇), liǎng (two 两 兩) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) mínzú (mín·zú {(of) people} · {ethnic groups} → [peoples] 民族) chángqī (cháng·qī long · {period of time} → [long-term] 长期 長期) yǒu ({have been having} 有) chōngtū (chōng·tū {dashing → [clashing]} · {chimney → [dashing forward]} → [conflicting] 冲突 衝突). Jíshǐ (Jí·shǐ {even though} · if 即使) rúcǐ (rú·cǐ {(it) is like} · this 如此), tāmen (tā·men him/her · [pl] → [them] 他们 他們) dāngzhōng (dāng·zhōng in · among 当中 當中) háishi (hái·shi (there) still · are 还是 還是) yǒurén (yǒu·rén {having → [being]} · persons 有人) néng (able 能) chénggōng (chéng·gōng accomplishing · achievement → [successfully] 成功) fàngxia (fàng·xia {to put} · down 放下) duì (towards 对 對) bǐcǐ (bǐ·cǐ those · these → [one another] 彼此) de (’s 的) chóuhèn (chóu·hèn enmity · hatred 仇恨), hépíng (hé·píng {being (together) with} · {being flat, level, even} → [peacefully] 和平)‐xiāngchǔ (xiāng·chǔ {with each other} · {to dwell → [to get along]} 相处 相處). Ràng (let 让 讓) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) kànkan (kàn·kan {look at} · {look at} 看看) liǎng (two 两 兩) ge ([mw] 个 個/个) lìzi (lì·zi examples · [suf for nouns] 例子).

Related to “Bālèsītǎnrén (Bālèsītǎn·rén Palestinian · {people | person[s] | man/men} 巴勒斯坦人)” being the Mandarin word for “Palestinians” is that “Bālèsītǎn (Palestine 巴勒斯坦)” is the Mandarin word for “Palestine”. Knowing these expressions, along with some of the expressions in the above quote, will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about, talk about, and pray about the ongoing Gaza-Israel conflict in the time ahead.

Note that it is apparent that “Bālèsītǎn (Palestine 巴勒斯坦)” was chosen to represent “Palestine” in Mandarin because of what it sounds like, not because of the meanings of the supposedly ideographic (representing meaning directly through visible symbols, bypassing speech) Chinese characters used to write it out (“Hope for Bridle This Flat”??? 🤷🏻).

Neutrality

With open warfare now raging in various parts of the world, Jehovah’s people must face the issue of neutrality. With the very survival of individuals as well as of entire nations and peoples seemingly on the line, feelings can run high.

Related to this issue, I found the following articles on jw.org:

The final article linked to above concludes with this paragraph:

The courts of Ukraine have recognized that conscientious objection to military service is a fundamental human right that merits protection even during military mobilization. It is neither a selfish evasion of duty nor a threat to national interests and security. In affirming the rulings of the lower courts, the high court has upheld human rights for all Ukrainians. Ukraine has set an example for countries that punish conscientious objectors who refuse military service for reasons of conscience.

Philistines?

One interesting point I came across while researching this post is that although the modern name “Palestine” ultimately came from the Hebrew word for “Philistia”, it’s not actually correct to associate modern Palestinians with the ancient Philistines. As the February 1, 1995 issue of The Watchtower says:

Alexander the Great conquered the Philistine city of Gaza, but in time, the Philistines apparently ceased to be a separate people. Professor Lawrence E. Stager wrote in Biblical Archaeology Review (May/June 1991): “The Philistines too were exiled to Babylon. . . . No record exists, however, as to what happened to the exiled Philistines. Those who may have remained in Ashkelon after Nebuchadrezzar’s conquest apparently lost their ethnic identity. They simply disappear from history.”

The modern name Palestine is derived from Latin and Greek words, which leads further back to the Hebrew word for “Philistia.” Some Bible translations in the Arabic language use a word for “Philistines” that is easily confused with the word for modern Palestinians. However, Today’s Arabic Version uses a different Arabic word, thus distinguishing between the ancient Philistines and modern Palestinians.

As some linguists like to say, “etymology isn’t destiny”:

Words change their meaning over time, the meanings of words are something that we’re creating with each other as a community, and the idea that etymology isn’t destiny is a fun and liberating thing to think about! Imagine how boring the world would be if there were never any new words or new meanings of words!