Tag: Music

Categories
Culture History

kǎlā’OK

kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The selection of this week’s MEotW, “kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK)”, was inspired by a Twitter thread of epic linguistic and etymological nerdery that I recently came across, which begins with this tweet:

Here are some of the tweets in this thread, which summarize how “kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK)” became a word in Mandarin:

Borrowed Culture

In addition to “kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK)”, another Mandarin word which borrowed from Japanese culture, which borrowed from Western culture, is “wénhuà (wén·huà {(with) writing} · transformed (system) → [culture] | {(with) writing} · transformed → [cultural] 文化)”, the Mandarin word for culture itself. As the MEotW post about that word says:

To translate the Western concept of culture, the Japanese coined the word bunka, which is written 文化 (see Liu, Zhengtan et al. 1984, s.v. wenhua). The Chinese imported this character combination from Japan and pronounced it according to the rules of their own language: wénhuà.
—“Two Steps Toward Digraphia in China”, by Xieyan Hincha

So, people going on about “pure” Chinese culture are ignorant or in denial about the reality of how other cultures have influenced Chinese culture, and about what a great, enriching thing that can be. Anyone who has been in a group or congregation with people predominantly from a single cultural background, and who has also had the pleasure of being in a group or congregation with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, has had the opportunity to see how the atmosphere of the latter situation can be a breath of fresh air compared to the relatively narrow—and potentially narrow-minded—cultural worldview that is sometimes allowed to be present in the former situation. Some parts of the world too are starting to realize the advantages of considering various cultural inputs, compared to trying to be productive or creative in a monocultural bubble.

Indeed, the proud “not invented here” logic of Chinese cultural purists who would, for example, reject Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) because it uses letters from the Latin alphabet would also require us to reject things like European-style punctuation, Arabic numerals, and kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK) because of their foreign-to-China origins. But, Chinese culture without kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK)? How dreary! Next, they’ll be wanting us to do long division using Chinese characters—十一, 九十九, 一千八百三十六, …—instead of Arabic numbers, and they’ll be wanting us to read and decipher Chinese writings the old-fashioned way, without the “crutch” of those decadent European punctuation marks! 😱

(Of course, with kǎlā’OK (karaoke 卡拉OK), as with anything that may involve worldly culture and music—which can possibly include some bad things along with the good things—Christians must be selective, exercising good spiritual judgement and following their Bible-trained consciences.)

As members of the international brotherhood of Jehovah’s people, and as ones “taught by Jehovah” himself, we need not be content with, let alone proud of, a particular way of doing things prescribed by human, worldly Chinese cultural tradition.—1 Peter 5:9; Isaiah 54:13; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 1 John 2:17; Mark 7:1–13.

Categories
Culture Theocratic

xīnlíng

xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈) ← 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.

Being Spiritual in Mandarin

For a long time, we in the Mandarin field had been using the Mandarin word “shǔlíng (shǔ·líng {(in the) category (of)} · spirit → [spiritual (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 notes change from “shǔlíng” to “xīnlíng”, etc.)] 属灵 屬靈)” to correspond with the English word “spiritual”. However, Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) points out that many beginning readers of the Mandarin NWT Bible find the word “shǔlíng (shǔ·líng {(in the) category (of)} · spirit → [spiritual (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 notes change from “shǔlíng” to “xīnlíng”, etc.)] 属灵 屬靈)” to be hard to understand. So, the current revision of the Mandarin NWT Bible (nwtsty) instead uses expressions with clearer meanings, with the context determining which expression is used.

One example that the appendix provides is that Matthew 5:3 now uses “xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈)”, this week’s MEotW, instead of “shǔlíng (shǔ·líng {(in the) category (of)} · spirit → [spiritual (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 notes change from “shǔlíng” to “xīnlíng”, etc.)] 属灵 屬靈)”:

Matthew 5:3 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

I have heard that “xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈)”, which connects spiritual matters with the heart, is indeed more familiar to modern-day native Mandarin-speakers and easier for them to understand, compared to “shǔlíng (shǔ·líng {(in the) category (of)} · spirit → [spiritual (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 notes change from “shǔlíng” to “xīnlíng”, etc.)] 属灵 屬靈)”.

An example I remember of “xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈)” being used by a worldly Mandarin-speaking person is that a few years ago, while answering an interview question about why she was taking so long to come out with new music, well-known singer Faye Wong said that “xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈) de (’s 的) shì (matters 事)”, like those touched upon in her music, take time to process.

(While some may wonder about connecting spirituality with any kind of worldly popular music, we should keep in mind that there are different kinds of popular music in the world, some being less focused on physical matters and comparatively more spiritual than others. Musicians are humans too, made in God’s image, so some of them may at times reflect, if imperfectly, some of God’s qualities and concerns. And as another well-known singer, Bono, has observed about music in general, “music is the language of the spirit”. We in the Mandarin field also know that the gift of music itself ultimately came from the Great Spirit Jehovah God himself, and we know that music is an important part of his worship.)