Category: Theocratic

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Culture Theocratic

liánmǐn

liánmǐn ({sympathizing with}; pitying [→ [having compassion; mercy]] 怜悯/闵/愍 憐憫/閔/愍) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Appendix A2 of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), entitled “Features of This Revision”, discusses vocabulary changes that have been made in the current revision, words that have been translated differently than before. As noted in various entries in the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE), Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) correspondingly discusses words that have been translated differently in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible, compared to how they had been translated before.

Since we base what we say in Jehovah’s service on his Word the Bible, the vocabulary used in it—and the way those vocabulary words are translated—should be reflected in how we speak in our ministry, at our meetings, etc. So, it is beneficial for us Mandarin field language learners to be familiar with the latest thinking from the organization on how Bible terms should be translated into Mandarin.

A Different Mandarin “Merciful”

As Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) points out, this current version builds on the previous version’s efforts to avoid expressions that could easily be associated with false religious concepts.

The first example that it points to is that in scriptures such as Exodus 34:6 (English, Mandarin), “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)” has been changed to “liánmǐn ({sympathizing with}; pitying [→ [having compassion; mercy]] 怜悯/闵/愍 憐憫/閔/愍)”:

Exodus 34:6 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

Not What We Mean

So, what’s the deal with “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)”? The entries for “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)” in a couple of the dictionaries that are available to be installed in the Pleco app give us some clues. First, consider the entry for this expression in the Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) Chinese-English dictionary:

mercy (old translation); Insight article heading in Watchtower Library 2011 CHS. NWT-2019’s Appendix A2 notes 慈悲 changed to 怜悯 to avoid conveying false-religious concepts (in this case perhaps the Buddhist/Jain concept of “karuna” which can be written 慈悲, although that is not stated)

In partial confirmation, Pleco’s own CC-Canto dictionary says this about “cíbēi (cí·bēi {[is] kind} · {[is] compassionate} → [[is] merciful | mercy; benevolence; pity] 慈悲)”:

(noun) (of Buddhism) Karuṇā

For reference, Wikipedia provides these summaries regarding Karuṇā:

Karuṇā (Sanskrit: करुणा) is generally translated as compassion or mercy and sometimes as self-compassion or spiritual longing. It is a significant spiritual concept in the Indic religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism.

Karuṇā is important in all schools of Buddhism. For Theravada Buddhists, dwelling in karuṇā is a means for attaining a happy present life and heavenly rebirth. For Mahāyāna Buddhists, karuṇā is a co-requisite for becoming a Bodhisattva.

Karuṇā is associated with the Jain practice of compassion.

Indeed, we definitely would not want people to think we mean any of the above when we talk about the mercifulness of the true God Jehovah!

Categories
Culture History Theocratic

Jìniàn Jùhuì

Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [[the] Memorial]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The page on jw.org entitled “Memorial of Jesus’ Death” invites people to this year’s Memorial, which as of this writing is fast approaching.

Appearing in the title of the Mandarin version of that page is this week’s MEotW, “Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [[the] Memorial])”, which corresponds to “Memorial”, or “the Memorial”.

Note that in this post, “Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [[the] Memorial])” is capitalized, rather than being rendered in all lowercase letters. Why has this been done? The answer involves another question: Is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) just a pronunciation aid or actually a full writing system?

To Be or Not to Be…a Full Writing System?

汉字 / 漢字? Pīnyīn?

The article “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Was Plan A” explains that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) was originally meant by Máo Zédōng ((Máo Hair (surname) 毛) (Zé·dōng Marsh · East 泽东 澤東) (the founder of the People’s Republic of China)) and some of the other early movers and shakers of the People’s Republic of China to eventually replace Chinese characters. (Yes, seriously—it’s April, but we Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t make April Fools’ jokes!) Even though in this case cultural pride, tradition, and inertia have been allowed in the Mandarin-speaking part of the world to leave no room for innovation and progress, the fact remains that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) was intended by design to work as a full writing system. That it actually does so is shown in the scholarly paper “Two Steps Toward Digraphia in China”, and in the article “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Is a Good, Workable Writing System on Its Own”.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Since Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is a full writing system like English is, there is good reason to consider it appropriate to capitalize Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) words similarly to how English words are capitalized. Of course, there are different style guides with different rules regarding how and what to capitalize in English, especially when it comes to titles, but at the very least, any particular piece of writing should generally stick to whatever capitalization style has been chosen for it. (Hopefully it’s a good one.)

Unfortunately, in the part of the world that uses written Mandarin, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is generally relegated to being just a pronunciation aid—it is not given the respect and dignity of being recognized as a full writing system, even though, as discussed above, it linguistically qualifies as one. Thus, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is generally not capitalized in the world, if it is used at all. In contrast, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material gives Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) the respect it has earned—it uses Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) as its default main writing system and carefully follows the capitalization example of the official English version of the Mandarin material it is based on. E.g., since “God’s Kingdom” is rendered in the official English material with capital letters at the beginnings of its words, the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material follows suit with “Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) de (’s 的) Wángguó (Wáng·guó King’s · Nation → [Kingdom] 王国 王國)”.

So, since “the Memorial” is capitalized in the organization’s official English material, such as the English version of the article “Memorial of Jesus’ Death” on jw.org, “Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [[the] Memorial])” is capitalized in this post and in other material containing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material.

The Precedent of Punctuation

Is it “beneath” the Chinese world to follow the example of English when it comes to the capitalization of the alphabet it uses? Well, the Chinese world has followed Western writing style examples before, with punctuation. As the MEotW post on “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)” pointed out:

Chinese writing in the past didn’t have punctuation, and now it has punctuation largely modeled after European punctuation. (For reference: Chinese punctuation – Wikipedia, Q&A: When were punctuation marks first used? – HistoryExtra, history – When was punctuation introduced into Chinese? – Chinese Language Stack Exchange)

Categories
Culture History Theocratic

xīshēng

xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

As the war Ukraine rages on, time marches on, and this year’s Memorial season is now upon us. As of this writing, the home page of jw.org now features a page inviting people to this year’s Memorial. Appearing in the title of the Mandarin version of that page is this week’s MEotW, “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”, which effectively means “sacrifice”.

Note that while the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” part of “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)” sounds like the word for “life”, and while Jesus did indeed give his life for us, in this case the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” used literally means “domestic animal”. When applied to Jesus’ sacrifice, we can take the “shēng ({domestic animal}; {sacrificial animal}; livestock 牲)” part of “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)” to effectively mean “(as with a) domestic animal”. It’s understandable that this particular morpheme is used in “xīshēng (xī·shēng {sacrifice (n or v) | sacrificial} · {[(as with a)] domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”, since domestic animals were commonly used in sacrifices in ancient China, as they were in ancient Israel.

(It’s interesting to note, though, that an Internet search for “ancient China sacrifices” will turn up many references to human sacrifices in ancient China, as there were in ancient Canaan—let us be careful not to think more highly of worldly Chinese history and culture than they actually deserve!)

Referring to the Memorial in Mandarin

By comparing the English and Mandarin versions of the page on jw.org as of this writing inviting people to the Memorial, we can see that the organization is now translating “Memorial of Jesus’ Death” into Mandarin as “Yēsū (Jesus’ 耶稣 耶穌) Xīshēng (Xī·shēng {Sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) Domestic Animal} → [Sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲) Jìniàn Jùhuì ((Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking Of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) (Jùhuì Meeting 聚会 聚會) → [Memorial])”. This is in contrast to the past rendering “Yēsū (Jesus’ 耶稣 耶穌) Shòunàn (Shòu·nàn {Being Subjected to → [Suffering of]} · Calamity 受难 受難)‐Jìniàn (Jì·niàn Remembering · {Thinking of} → [Commemorating] 记/纪念 記/紀念) Jùhuì (Meeting 聚会 聚會)” (km 2/2011) that the excellent resource Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) tells us about. (It also tells us about the current rendering, memtioned above.) For the Memorial, it does seem more relevant to emphasize Jesus’ sacrifice (“xīshēng (xī·shēng sacrifice (n)} · {(as with a) domestic animal} → [sacrifice] 牺牲 犧牲)”) itself, as opposed to the suffering (“shòunàn (shòu·nàn {being subjected to → [suffering of]} · calamity 受难 受難)”) that he had to endure in the process of offering it.