Category: Theocratic

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Culture History Language Learning Technology Theocratic

jiùsuàn

jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

“If…”

The second Mandarin expression that occurs in verse 1 (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) of 1 Corinthians 13 (after “Wǒ (I 我)”) is this week’s MEotW, “jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算)”.

Screenshot of “jiùsuàn” in 1 Co. 13:1 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension.)

“Jiù (then; already | exactly | regarding | immediately | merely | {move towards} | {engage in} | accomplish; make | accommodate | {go with} | {even if} 就)” can mean many different things, as can be seen from its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information. The meaning that seems to apply in “jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算)” is “even if”.

Calculating…

As for “suàn (calculate; compute; figure | count (v) [→ [consider/regard as]] 算)”, one of its meanings is “calculate”. (In fact, a “jìsuàn jī ((jì·suàn computing · calculating 计算 計算) (jī machine 机 機/机) → [computer | calculator (Taiwan)])” is a computer, or a calculator.)

There certainly is a long history of calculating done in the long history of China, such as all the calculating done to save face, advance ambitions, and acquire status in the official bureaucracy and in the imperial court. Perhaps because of Chinese cultural tradition or out of habit inherited from the world, some may have a tendency to do similar calculating in the Mandarin field. Rather than focusing on the work of praising Jehovah and preaching to and teaching Mandarin-speaking ones, some might be focusing on ways to receive “glory from one another”.—John 5:44.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 admonishes us though, that jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算) this is done, even if such calculating is done to figure in things like ‘speaking in the tongues of men and of angels’, ‘understanding…all knowledge’ (perhaps, for example, knowledge of Chinese characters), various boastworthy deeds, etc., if one does not have love, then all those other things mean nothing:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all.

Let us, then, examine our hearts to make sure that we avoid letting pride be our motivation. Instead, let us cultivate love for Jehovah and for our Mandarin-speaking neighbours, so that love is what motivates us in our efforts to learn the language and serve in the Mandarin field.

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Culture History Language Learning Theocratic

yíyì‐gūxíng

yíyì (yí·yì {(having) one} · intention → [stubbornly] 一意)‐gūxíng (gū·xíng {orphaned → [alone]} · {go; walk → [do]} → [cling to one’s own course; insist on having one’s own way] 孤行) ← 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.

Communication and Love

Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) mentions that one of the goals for this version was to reduce the number of hard-to-recognize, hard-to-read Chinese characters used, and to replace them with more commonly used characters. One example it provides is that “gāngbì (gāng·bì {[is] firm} · {[is] wilful} 刚愎 剛愎)‐zìyòng (zì·yòng {[is] self-·applying} → [[is] opinionated] 自用)” was changed to this week’s MEotW, “yíyì (yí·yì {(having) one} · intention → [stubbornly] 一意)‐gūxíng (gū·xíng {orphaned → [alone]} · {go; walk → [do]} → [cling to one’s own course; insist on having one’s own way] 孤行)”.—2 Timothy 3:4.

2 Timothy 3:4 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

In this case, a relatively unfamiliar, hard-to-parse expression was replaced with a different one that conveys the intended meaning, while being more familiar and easier to understand. This helpful simplification reminds us that the ultimate goal of language should be to communicate, not to show off one’s knowledge of hard words or whatever. And, as the September 1, 1991 Watchtower emphasizes, good communication is motivated by unselfish love:

Christian communication especially needs to be effective because it has as its goal the reaching of people’s hearts with the truth from God’s Word so that, hopefully, they will act on what they learn. Uniquely, it is motivated by unselfishness, by love.

Yes, as 1 Corinthians 8:1 says:

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

More Understandable Alternate Expressions

As discussed in the article “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Was Plan A”, Zhōu Yǒuguāng ((Zhōu {Circumference; Circle (surname)} 周 周/週) (Yǒu·guāng Has · Light 有光) (Chinese linguist, etc., known as “the father of Pīnyīn”)) (Wikipedia article), who led the team that designed Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), pointed out that assigning alternate expressions with different pronunciations is a good way to address Mandarin’s so-called homophone problem. (Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation, but different meanings.)

From the examples referred to in the Mandarin NWT Appendix A2, we can see that assigning alternate expressions can also be a good way to address the problem of excessively hard-to-recognize or hard-to-understand expressions. Rather than being attached to the idea that particular characters are required to represent certain meanings, as perhaps suggested by the Ideographic Myth, the translators of the Mandarin NWT Bible recognized that representing easily understandable speech is the true priority for God’s people.—1 Corinthians 14:8–11.

So, let us not be yíyì (yí·yì {(having) one} · intention → [stubbornly] 一意)‐gūxíng (gū·xíng {orphaned → [alone]} · {walking → [doing]} → [clinging to one’s own course] 孤行), insisting that the new translated expressions in the current Mandarin NWT are not as good as the old expressions, or clinging to old, erroneous ideas like “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) could never work as a writing system for Mandarin because characters are needed to deal with all the homophones in Mandarin.”

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Culture Language Learning Names Technology Theocratic

Yēsū Xīshēng Jìniàn Jùhuì

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]) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

This year’s Memorial is scheduled for this week, so this week’s MEotW is “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 currently the official way to translate “the Memorial of Jesus’ death” into Mandarin, as can be seen by comparing the English and Mandarin pages for the Memorial on jw.org.

It’s worth noting that this is a simple, straightforward, functional translation, free of unnecessary sentimentality or ceremony. As one dictionary puts it, “ceremony”, in this case, refers to:

The formalities observed on some solemn or important public or state occasion in order to render it more imposing or impressive: as, the ceremony of crowning a king, or of laying a foundation-stone; the ceremony of inaugurating the President of the United States.

Indeed, for those of us who appreciate Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, the Memorial is about this appreciation, not about ceremony or empty or showy rituals.

What Price Ceremony?

The matter of unnecessary ceremony reminds me of something I heard in a podcast a while ago:

Here is a clip of the podcast referred to in the tweet above, in which Mr. Cohen speaks of the core goal to make Swift ceremony-free:

As the above tweet also mentions, Chinese characters have oodles and gobs of unnecessary, time-and-energy-consuming ceremony, especially compared to the simple, straightforward, and elegant Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) writing system. And, echoing Mr. Cohen’s observation that ceremony can weigh programmers down and rob them of the joy that they could otherwise feel when coding, many have found that the unnecessary, traditionally mandated complexity and ceremonial baggage of Chinese characters can weigh down Mandarin learners and take away much of the joy that they should be able to feel from learning how to really communicate with Mandarin-speaking people.

Is it appropriate for us to look at the Chinese characters writing system through the same lens that we use to look at a technological system like the Swift programming language? It really is, because while the Chinese characters writing system is indeed a matter of culture, all writing systems are simultaneously technologies, applications of skills and knowledge for practical purposes.