Categories
Languages

Guóyǔ

Guóyǔ (Guó·yǔ National · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Taiwan)] 国语 國語) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

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

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 “Guóyǔ (Guó·yǔ National · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Taiwan)] 国语 國語)” or one of the other ways to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin in Mandarin. For example, even though generally “pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話)” (a previous MEotW) has been the term used in mainland China to refer to Mandarin, there appear to be political reasons for the reportedly increasing usage of the term “Guóyǔ (Guó·yǔ National · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Taiwan)] 国语 國語)” in the Xinjiang region of China, involving promotion of nationalism—the “guó (country; nation; state 国 國)” in “Guóyǔ (Guó·yǔ National · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in Taiwan)] 国语 國語)” means “nation”. 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
Names Theocratic

Ānnà

Ānnà (Anna 安娜) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

I highly, highly enjoyed the character-driven dramatizations in the Saturday sessions of this year’s convention that featured Neeta the Neat Freak and Jade the Jaded Young Person. (They start at about the 19:46 mark of the video for the first Saturday session.) I found them especially well-written, well-acted, etc., resulting in them being very believable, insightful, funny, and moving.

In the corresponding Mandarin videos, Neeta is named “Ānnà (Anna 安娜)”. (You can hear this starting at about the 21:36 mark of this video.)

Anna meets Jade; Mandarin subtitle: “我叫安娜” (“Wǒ jiào Ānnà”)
“Wǒ (I 我) jiào ({am called} 叫 叫/呌) Ānnà (Anna 安娜)”

“Ānnà (Anna 安娜)” obviously does not sound like “Neeta”, so was “Ānnà (Anna 安娜)” instead chosen for the meaning it suggests in Mandarin, similarly to how in English, “Neeta” suggests “neat” and “Jade” suggests “jaded”? Let’s see…

The “Ān ({set (sb.’s mind) at ease; calm} | {rest content; be satisfied} | {place in a suitable position [→ [install; fix; fit; set up]]} | {[is] peaceful; tranquil; safe; secure; in good health} 安)” in “Ānnà (Anna 安娜)” can mean “place in a suitable position”, which indeed suits Neeta the self-professed Neat Freak. It’s the “ān ({set (sb.’s mind) at ease; calm} | {rest content; be satisfied} | {place in a suitable position [→ [install; fix; fit; set up]]} | {[is] peaceful; tranquil; safe; secure; in good health} 安)” in “ānpái (ān·pái {placing in a suitable position} · {arranging; putting in order; sequencing; lining up} → [arranging | arrangement] 安排)”, which means “arrange” or “arrangement”.

The “nà ({[is] elegant; graceful; delicate} (used in female names) 娜)” in “Ānnà (Anna 安娜)” means “elegant; graceful; delicate”. So, while “Ānnà (Anna 安娜)”, like many Chinese names, primarily approximates the pronunciation of its original-language counterpart (“Anna”, that is, not “Neeta”), its components can be taken together to mean “placed (or set up) so as to be elegant, graceful”. Again, this meaning is very fitting in the case of Neeta the Neat Freak. The team that translated these dramatizations into Mandarin certainly did a good, thoughtful job!

Speaking of Anna/Ānnà (Anna 安娜), the Bible tells us of a prophetess named Anna in English, and named Ānnà (Anna 安娜) in Mandarin (the same name as is used for Neeta the Neat Freak). This enduringly faithful prophetess was privileged to see the young child Jesus and bear witness about him.—Luke 2:36–38.

In another convention connection, this Anna/Ānnà (Anna 安娜) was featured in the music-video presentation at the beginning of this year’s convention’s Sunday afternoon session. (For example, see the 8:25 mark of the English/Mandarin video for that session.)

The prophetess Anna/Ānnà/安娜
Ānnà (Anna 安娜)

Categories
Languages

pǔtōnghuà

pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

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

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 “pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話)” 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:

Other Mandarin expressions commonly used to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin will be future Mandarin Expressions of the Week. Posts about these different Mandarin expressions used to refer to (Modern Standard) Mandarin will be viewable using the link for this blog’s Mandarin tag.