Categories
Language Learning Languages

Hányǔ

Hányǔ (Hán·yǔ Korean · Language 韩语 韓語) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Wait a minute, isn’t this the same as last week’s MEotW?

This week’s and last week’s Mandarin Expressions of the Week may look the same at first glance, and if you aren’t careful to say them right, they may end up sounding the same too. Actually, though, if you do say them right, they sound noticeably different, and they mean completely different things.

Last week’s MEotW was “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)”, with a fourth tone “a”, and it means “Han (Chinese) language” (that is, (Modern Standard) Mandarin).

This week’s MEotW, however, is “Hányǔ (Hán·yǔ Korean · Language 韩语 韓語)”, with a second tone “a”, and it means “Korean language”.

Yes, in Mandarin, one tone is the difference between Mandarin and Korean! Indeed, getting tones right in Mandarin is as important as getting vowels right in English—Mandarin tones really do affect the meaning that much.

If you are a native English speaker, imagine someone saying to you that it doesn’t matter if they say “bet” or “beat”. (“I bet you!”/“I beat you!”—same thing?) It’s true that we don’t want to put any worldly human culture on a pedestal, and it’s true that people will be tolerant of your imprecise or incorrect Mandarin tones if they know you are trying your best. However, what if you’re not really trying your best? What if you’ve been learning Mandarin for many years, but you haven’t really tried to make your Mandarin tones better than they were when you were starting out? What if you’ve just been lazy, and dismissive of the importance of Mandarin tones when speaking Mandarin? If so, then that may even be edging towards being a patronizing, racist microaggression, even if it’s a subconscious one. (“Those silly Chinese people with their finicky tones…whatever!”) None of that proud worldy nonsense for us, thank you very much!

Another consideration is that if we are speaking in Mandarin about spiritual things, we are risking misrepresenting Jehovah God and his truth if we are not using the right tones, and thus not actually saying what we think we are saying. So, literally for the love of God, as well as to show appropriate respectfulness and love of neighbour, let us get into the habit early of really trying our best to be correct in how we say our Mandarin tones!

It’s understandable that if you grew up speaking, say, English or Korean, which don’t use tones like Mandarin does, you will likely find, especially at first, that you’re just not used to doing what it takes to say Mandarin tones correctly—your ears, your mouth, your mind, your heart—so much of you is just not used to Mandarin tones! That is not a good reason, though, to then just not even try to say Mandarin tones correctly. On the contrary, if we’re not used to doing something that is important for us to do, then we need to put extra effort into it, over an extended time, so that we eventually do get used to it. Then, when we have gotten used to it, it will feel natural and easy.

No, really! It’s totally possible to eventually get used to distinguishing and saying Mandarin tones correctly, just as it’s totally possible for someone who’s learning English to eventually get used to distinguishing between and saying “bet” and “beat” correctly. When we do get used to handling Mandarin tones correctly, then everything we do in the Mandarin field will be better and easier. We and native Mandarin-speakers will be able to easily understand each other, and our Mandarin “sacrifice of praise” to God will not be “lame”, but rather, sound, and good-sounding too!—1 Co. 14:8–11; Heb. 13:15; Mal. 1:8.

Categories
Culture History Languages

Hànyǔ

Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

This is the expression commonly used by normal people, and also linguists 😁 (just kidding, linguists are great, especially for informing a language-oriented blog like this), to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin.

The expression “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)” is so commonly used and officially recognized that it shows up in the longer, more official names for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音):

  • Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)
  • Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Fāng’àn (Fāng’·àn {Direction → [Method]} · {Long, Narrow Table Or Desk → [Plan]} 方案)

Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)” literally means “Han language”. Who are the Han, and how do they relate to China and things Chinese?

Wikipedia gives us the following summarizations about the Han:

The Han Chinese,[source][source][source] Hanzu,[source][source][source] or Han people[source][source][source][source] (UK: /hæn/,[source] US: /hɑːn/;[source] simplified Chinese: 汉人; traditional Chinese: 漢人; pinyin: Hànrén[source][source] or simplified Chinese: 汉族; traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: Hànzú)[source][source][source] are an East Asian ethnic group and nation, historically native to the Yellow River Basin region of modern China.[source][source][source][source][source] They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive varieties of the Chinese language.[source][source] The estimated 1.4 billion Han Chinese people are mostly concentrated in mainland China, where they make up about 92% of the total population.[source]
The Han dynasty is considered to be one of the first great eras in Chinese history, as it made China the major regional power in East Asia and projected much of its influence on its neighbours, comparable to the contemporary Roman Empire in population size, geographical and cultural reach.[source][source][source] The Han dynasty's prestige and prominence influenced many of the ancient Huaxia to begin identifying themselves as "The People of Han".[source][source][source][source][source] To this day, the Han Chinese have since taken their ethnic name from this dynasty and the Chinese script is referred to as "Han characters".[source][source][source]

Being by far the largest ethnic group in China, while not being the only one, the Han are the dominant cultural force in China. When people think of Chinese culture, they are generally thinking of Han culture. (Note that “ethnic group” is defined as “a community or population made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent”, so culture figures heavily in what makes an ethnic group what it is.)

Unfortunately, politics sometimes raises its ugly head in language matters, and so it is worth noting that in some situations, there may be political implications of using “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language [→ [(Modern Standard) Mandarin]] 汉语 漢語)” or one of the other ways to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin in Mandarin. For more information, see these posts on the excellent Language Log blog:

Posts on this Mandarin Expression of the Week blog about other Mandarin expressions used to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin can be viewed using the link for the Mandarin tag.

Categories
History Languages

Huáyǔ

Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

This is the expression commonly used in Singapore to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin.

The “Huá (magnificent; splendid; flowery; florescent [→ [Chinese]])” in “Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語)” is, incidentally, the “huá (magnificent; splendid; flowery; florescent [→ [Chinese]])” in “Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華)”, in which it is mainly used for its sound. “Huá (magnificent; splendid; flowery; florescent [→ [Chinese]])” seems to have a root meaning of “flower” or “flowery”, and is used in several expressions to mean “China” or “Chinese”. In addition to “Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語)”, some other examples are:

  • Zhōnghuá (Zhōng·huá Central · Flower → [China] 中华 中華)
  • Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghé Guó ((Zhōng·huá Central · Flower → [China] 中华 中華) (Rén·mín People’s 人民) (Gònghé Guó (Gòng·hé Shared · Harmony → [Republic] 共和) (Guó Nation) → [Republic]) [People’s Republic of China])
  • Zhōnghuá Mínguó ((Zhōng·huá Central · Flower → [China] 中华 中華) (Mín·guó People’s · Nation 民国 民國) [Republic of China (Taiwan)])
  • Huárén (Huá·rén {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · {People | Person[s] | Man/Men} 华人 華人)
  • Huáqiáo (Huá·qiáo {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · {Living Abroad (People/Person[s])} → [overseas Chinese people/person[s]] 华侨 華僑)

Wikipedia summarizes that “huá (magnificent; splendid; flowery; florescent [→ [Chinese]])” used in connection with China is short for “Huáxià (Huá·xià Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent · {Summer → [Xià (Dynasty)]} → [historical concept representing the Chinese nation and civilization] 华夏 華夏)”, an expression that dates back millennia:

Huaxia is a historical concept representing the Chinese nation and civilization
Huaxia refers to a confederation of tribes—living along the Yellow River—who were the ancestors of what later became the Han ethnic group in China[source][source]. During the Warring States (475–221 BCE), the self-awareness of the Huaxia identity developed and took hold in ancient China.[source]
The term Huaren (華人) for a Chinese person is an abbreviation of Huaxia with ren (人, person).[source] Huaren in general is used for people of Chinese ethnicity, in contrast to Zhongguoren (中國人) which usually (but not always) refers to citizens of China.[source] Although some may use Zhongguoren to refer to the Chinese ethnicity, such usage is not accepted by some in Taiwan.[source] In overseas Chinese communities in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, Huaren or Huaqiao (overseas Chinese) is used as they are not citizens of China.[source][source]

Interestingly, since “huá (magnificent; splendid; flowery; florescent [→ [Chinese]])” can mean “flower”, and since the roots of referring to Chinese people as “Huárén (Huá·rén {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · {People | Person[s] | Man/Men} 华人 華人)” go back millennia, that means that Chinese people were “flower people” long before the hippies of the West were!

Unfortunately, politics sometimes raises its ugly head in language matters, and so it is worth noting that in some situations, there may be political implications of using “Huáyǔ (Huá·yǔ {Magnificent; Splendid; Flowery; Florescent → [Chinese]} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Singapore)] 华语 華語)” or one of the other ways to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin in Mandarin. For more information, see these posts on the excellent Language Log blog:

Posts on this Mandarin Expression of the Week blog about other Mandarin expressions used to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin can be viewed using the link for the Mandarin tag.