Tag: Need Is Great

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wúkě‐bǐnǐ

wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to compare; parallel} → [to compare; match; draw a parallel] 比拟 比擬) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]

Rather than dismissively thinking to ourselves that the songs produced by the organization are “just songs”, we should remember that the slave class takes seriously its responsibility to provide spiritual food to God’s people, and so it is going to make sure that the lyrics in its songs are spiritually correct, while also being emotionally moving.—Ezekiel 33:32; Matthew 24:45.

Without Compare

“wúkě‐bǐnǐ” _Pīnyīn_ Plus info, Song 152 (music+_Pīnyīn_), on iPhone 13 mini (landscape orientation)

This week’s MEotW in the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web)

This week’s MEotW, “wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to compare; parallel} → [to compare; match; draw a parallel] 比拟 比擬)”, comes from the first verse of song 152, which is entitled “A Place That Will Bring You Praise” in English and “Nǐ de ((Nǐ You 你) (de ’s 的) → [Your]) Róngyào (Róng·yào Glorious · {Brilliant → [Glorious]} → [Glorious] 荣耀 榮耀) zhī (’ 之) Jiā ([mw for establishments] 家)” in Mandarin:

English:

Jehovah, the Maker of heaven,
By heaven you can’t be contained,
Even less an earthly dwelling place.
But your spirit can here remain.

Mandarin (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus):

📖 📄 📘 Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華) yòng (used 用) dà (big → [great] 大) néng (ability 能) zào ({to make} 造) tiāndì (tiān·dì heavens · earth 天地),
Nǐ de ((Nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) róngyào (róng·yào glory · {being brilliant → [glory]} → [glory] 荣耀 榮耀) wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to parallel} → [to compare] 比拟 比擬).
Xiǎoxiǎo (Xiǎo·xiǎo small · small → [miniscule] 小小) dìqiú (dì·qiú earth · globe 地球) rúhé (rú·hé like · how → [how] 如何) néng (can 能) chéngzài (chéng·zài bear · hold → [bear the weight of] 承载 承載)
Nǐ de ((Nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) lìliang (lì·liang power · quantity 力量), nǐ de ((nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) hòu’ài (hòu’·ài {thick → [deep]} · love 厚爱 厚愛)?

“Wúkě (Wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to compare; parallel} → [to compare; match; draw a parallel] 比拟 比擬)” means “there is not being able to compare”. So, the line that it appears in, “Nǐ de ((Nǐ you 你) (de ’s 的) → [your]) róngyào (róng·yào glory · {being brilliant → [glory]} → [glory] 荣耀 榮耀) wúkě (wú·kě {there is not} · {being able} 无可 無可)‐bǐnǐ (bǐ·nǐ {to compare} · {to parallel} → [to compare] 比拟 比擬)”, means “Your glory is without compare”.

People of this world support corrupt, self-seeking politicians, worship the blind chance that they say powers evolution, look for space aliens, place their hopes in artificial intelligence, and so on. However, none of those could accomplish what Jehovah God has accomplished—He alone is the One who actually created the universe and all the living things in it. So, as expressed by this week’s MEotW, Jehovah’s glory truly is without compare, and there is no one and nothing else that people should look to and hope in in these dark times.

As Mandarin field language learners, let us be determined to keep on doing our best to sing Jehovah’s praises well in this largest of all worldwide language fields. Not only is the Mandarin field the largest one in the world, with about a billion people worldwide for whom Mandarin is their mother tongue, it’s also about 2½ times the size of the worldwide English field. So, it could be said that there should really be about 2½ times as many publishers in the worldwide Mandarin field as there are in the worldwide English field. Yes, “the harvest is great, but the workers are few”, so sing out loud in the Mandarin field, and sing out strong!—Matthew 9:37, 38.

Chart: Languages by First-Language Speakers—2019

Musical Notation 🎼 and the Mandarin Field

In this post about a Mandarin expression found in our songbook, another subject that I want to touch on is: Is musical notation 🎼 too hard to be worth the trouble of producing it and using it? Are fewer and fewer people able to read it? I was fortunate enough to have been taught how to read musical notation in school. I have never thought of musical notation as being particularly difficult to use (it’s much easier to learn than characters, which many unquestioningly try to learn), and I find that it helps me to sing Kingdom songs more correctly (according to the intended melody, message, etc.) and more confidently more of the time. However, I am aware that not everyone in the Mandarin field has the same experience with musical notation. For example, a while ago, an older brother told me that he didn’t know how to read musical notation. Also, some people in the Mandarin field may have been affected by how education systems in this old world have been failing to provide or cutting back on music education for younger ones.

Regardless of how the world may be deprioritizing music education, Jehovah’s organization has pointed out that music is important in Jehovah’s worship. For example, not long ago, a Meeting Workbook said:

Music can have a powerful influence on the mind and body. Singing is an important part of our worship of Jehovah.

In accordance with the importance of music in Jehovah’s worship, Mandarin field language learners used to have available to them official material from the organization containing musical notation with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in the lyrics. However, perhaps at least partially because of the technical difficulty and costliness of producing material with musical notation and both Chinese characters and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in the lyrics, as of this writing, early in 2025, there is no official material currently available from the organization that shows Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and musical notation on the same page or screen.

The organization continues to publish official songbook material for different languages in general that contains musical notation, so it evidently still considers musical notation to generally be worthwhile to produce. It continues to produce official material for the current songbook that uses musical notation along with lyrics rendered only in Chinese characters, without Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), and it has even produced official material that uses jiǎnpǔ (jiǎn·pǔ simple · {register or record for reference → [musical notation]} → [numbered musical notation] 简谱 簡譜) (a kind of musical notation also known as numbered musical notation) and Chinese characters.

For those who find it helpful in their Mandarin field activities to put musical notation together with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) exists and is continuing to be improved. As shown in the screenshot above, this resource aids Mandarin field language learners by breaking with tradition and featuring lyrics in the musical notation that are only in relatively large-print Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) by default—characters are relegated to Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcards” that are added as time allows.

Unlike the traditionally-used but unnecessarily extraordinarily complex characters that need to be accompanied by Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) before many are able to read them, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) itself is a simple, elegant alphabetical full writing system for Mandarin that is easy to learn and remember. Also, it is no harder to typeset than other alphabetical writing systems with diacritics, such as the writing systems now used for French, Czech, Vietnamese, etc.*

In its Tips: section at the bottom of its home page, the “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) resource contains these links that some may find helpful:

For convenience:

The direct link for the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the “Sing Out Joyfully” book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the “Sing Out Joyfully” book is:

More Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material based on the Mandarin “Sing Out Joyfully” book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

 

* Thanks to ongoing advancements in personal computing hardware and software, producing material that contains things like musical notation and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text at reasonable cost is quicker and easier than ever. At this time, production of the musical notation in the “Sing Out Joyfully” Bk. (Pīnyīn+Music, Pīnyīn Plus, Web) resource begins in free open source software called MuseScore Studio, running on a Mac. Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text for the lyrics in the musical notation is entered using macOS’s ABC – Extended input source (keyboard layout). (Just using Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) text only here simplifies things so much compared to having to somehow input characters with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) ruby text!) When it’s ready, the musical notation for a song is exported from MuseScore Studio into SVG format, which is a plain text format that allows for the inclusion of links that activate Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus flashcards on webpages. The coding for the SVG links is currently mostly done using the text editor BBEdit, in which editing large text files is quite performant. For Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web material production in general, my current favourite tool is Nova, but such web material can be produced in any application suitable for web development, such as Visual Studio Code, etc. ^

Categories
Culture Current Events Experiences Language Learning

zǒuxiàn

zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

I recently listened to an episode of the Drum Tower podcast entitled “Why Chinese migrants are crossing dangerous jungle to reach America” (posted on Oct. 8, 2024). In it, Alice Su, senior China correspondent for The Economist, explains that “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)”, this week’s MEotW (which has its very own Wikipedia page), is the expression used by certain Chinese migrants to refer to their intended journey, which for many involves flying to Ecuador in South America, crossing the wild stretches of the Darién Gap, and carrying on to the United States of America. As said in the podcast:

News anchor [00:01:03] The infamous Darien Gap on the border between Colombia and Panama is the only route between South and North America. Those attempting to cross it risk robbery and death.

Alice Su [00:01:17] This route is taken by many desperate migrants from countries torn apart by war, crime, and poverty. But in the last few years, more and more Chinese people have been taking this route to reach the U.S. too. Last year, there were more than 37,000. That’s nearly ten times more than the year before, and 50 times more than the year before that. And that surprised me, because China is a superpower. It’s the second largest economy in the world. It’s at peace, and it’s strong enough to challenge America for global dominance. I wanted to understand who are these Chinese migrants? What is driving them out of China, and what awaits them in America?

[Note 2024-12-19: As SB points out in the comments below, evidently “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)” “can also apply to other illegal immigration routes into other countries”, and so this post has been revised accordingly. Still, apparently people are mostly using it to refer to taking the journey through the Darién Gap to reach the USA, to the point that the Wikipedia page about this phenomenon currently only mentions this route. Of course, as many know, while Wikipedia often provides a useful starting point for research, it is neither completely comprehensive nor always right.]

The Same Words, Different Meanings

On a certain level of literalness, the morphemes in “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)” mean “walk (the) line”. This may remind country music fans of the Johnny Cash song “I Walk the Line”, in which the protagonist sings of his determination to remain faithful to his wife. This accords with one of the English meanings of “walk the line”:

To behave in an authorized or socially accepted manner, especially as prescribed by law or morality; to exercise self-control.

The contrast of this meaning with that given by the above-mentioned Chinese migrants to “zǒuxiàn (zǒu·xiàn walk · {[(on)] thread → [line]} → [take the journey taken by Chinese migrants, esp. across the Darién Gap to reach the USA] 走线 走線/綫)” is a classic example of how the same words can have different meanings in different cultural and historical contexts. That’s one reason why communicating with Mandarin-speaking people and reaching their hearts involves more than just learning vocabulary words and memorizing characters.

“Sheep Without a Shepherd”

As a Mandarin field language learner, listening to some of the experiences of the Chinese migrants interviewed in the above-mentioned podcast may remind you of Jesus’ words at Matthew 9:36:

On seeing the crowds, he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.

Whether they know it or not, these people need to hear the good news of God’s Kingdom! Let us continue to do our best, then, to join in and to help answer the call that Jesus included in his next words, recorded in verses 37 and 38 of the same chapter:

Then he said to his disciples: “Yes, the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

Categories
Culture Experiences History Language Learning Languages

jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng

jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng ((jī chicken 鸡 雞/鷄)‐(tóng {together with} 同 同/仝)‐(yā duck 鸭 鴨)‐(jiǎng speaking 讲 講) → [people not understanding each other because of speaking different languages (from Cantonese)]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

[Yes, this expression comes from Cantonese, but the above Mandarin version does appear in Mandarin dictionaries, so it qualifies as a Mandarin expression!]

Recently, while out to dinner with one of the first families to serve in the local Cantonese congregation, along with the circuit overseer serving the local Chinese circuit and his wife, the subject came up of how Mandarin and Cantonese are actually different languages, not just dialects of the same language.

Chickens Talking with Ducks

The wife of the circuit overseer asked what the difference is between a language and a dialect. So, I proceeded to explain something that is emphasized by American sinologist and University of Pennsylvania Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Victor H. Mair, that a primary way accepted by most linguists to distinguish a language from a dialect is mutual intelligibility, as is discussed in this excerpt from the MEotW post on “fāngyán (fāng·yán {direction → [place]} · speech → [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)] 方言)”:

It has been said that “a language is a dialect with an army and navy”, but in his article Professor Mair gives us a more linguistically correct and useful way to distinguish between a language and a dialect:

Regardless of the imprecision of lay usage, we should strive for a consistent means of distinguishing between language and dialect. Otherwise we might as well use the two terms interchangeably. That way lies chaos and the collapse of rational discourse. Mutual intelligibility [emphasis added] is normally accepted by most linguists as the only plausible criterion for making the distinction between language and dialect in the vast majority of cases. Put differently, no more suitable, workable device for distinguishing these two levels of speech has yet been proposed. If there are to be exceptions to the useful principle of mutual intelligibility, there should be compelling reasons for them. Above all, exceptions should not be made the rule.

What is mutual intelligibility? Simply put, in linguistics, two or more speech varieties are said to be mutually intelligible if they are “able to be understood by one another’s speakers”. For example, if one person only knows English, and another person only knows Spanish, they can’t really understand each other if they try to talk to each other—English and Spanish are not mutually intelligible, and are suitably recognized as being different languages, not just different dialects of “European”.

Similarly, if one person only knows Mandarin, and another person only knows Cantonese, they can’t really understand each other if they try to talk to each other—Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible. So, while they may be “fāngyán (fāng·yán {direction → [place]} · {(patterns of) speech} 方言)”, linguistically, Mandarin and Cantonese should really be considered to be different languages, not just different dialects of “Chinese”.

Indeed, I have heard people use this week’s MEotW, “jī‐tóng‐yā‐jiǎng ((jī chicken 鸡 雞/鷄)‐(tóng {together with} 同 同/仝)‐(yā duck 鸭 鴨)‐(jiǎng speaking 讲 講) → [people not understanding each other because of speaking different languages (from Cantonese)])”, to specifically describe Mandarin-speakers and Cantonese-speakers trying to talk to each other, and not understanding each other. 🐓 🦆

After I explained the gist of the above, one of the daughters of the family at the dinner—who had been labouring for decades under the misconception that Mandarin and Cantonese are just dialects and that someone who knows one can easily learn the other—said, “Now I don’t feel like an idiot.”

Uncommon Knowledge?

It could be said that ones such as this family and this circuit overseer and his wife, who have all worked so hard and served for so long in the Chinese language fields, should already have known such a basic thing about the Chinese languages. However, the following things are unfortunately true:

  • Even publishers who are learning a language to serve in that language’s field generally consider such linguistic (language science) knowledge to be specialized technical knowledge that is beyond what they need to learn, and possibly beyond what they could even comprehend.
  • Western-educated publishers learning a Chinese language may unwittingly go along with the Western worldly tendency to exoticize things related to China. (John DeFrancis, in his book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy (p. 37), calls this “Exotic East Syndrome”.) They may be content with—or even enjoy—the alluring veil of mystery and mystique surrounding certain things related to China and Chinese culture. Thus, they don’t seek to learn about and understand deeper truths about such things, that may pierce through this obscuring veil, and burst this bubble.—Compare 2 Corinthians 3:14, including the margin note.
  • The central ruling authorities of China have long actively promoted the scientifically incorrect idea that the different varieties of speech in China are just dialects of the one Chinese language. This idea is political propaganda supporting the idea that it’s good for there to be central ruling authorities in China.
  • Traditional worldly Chinese language instructors and others who are knowledgeable about Chinese languages and Chinese characters are eager to promote and perpetuate the traditional thinking about Chinese languages and characters, that they have invested so much time and effort in, and that they are so proud of.
  • Chinese-educated publishers who are already steeped in the traditional ideas about Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc., and who are thus lauded and deferred to as experts by other publishers, may be eager to simply unquestioningly pass on the cultural knowledge and ideas that they were taught, and that they are lauded and respected for.
  • The Bible makes it clear that Satan the Devil is “a liar and the father of the lie”. It also describes him as “the great dragon…who is misleading the entire inhabited earth”. So, while we can only speculate about the details of what strings are purposely pulled in the spirit realm by Satan and his demons as opposed to what human folly they simply passively observe, we can be sure that Satan is delighted with all the ways in which people are misled in and about the Chinese culture, in which the dragon is considered a positive, revered symbol.—John 8:44; Revelation 12:9.

So, for reasons such as the above, even the basic linguistic truth that Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc. actually function as different languages is unfortunately not yet common knowledge among those serving in the Chinese fields. As the saying goes, which some say is a Chinese proverb, “error will travel over half the globe, while truth is pulling on her boots”.

Jesus said, though, that true worshippers worship “with spirit and truth”, and that “the truth will set you free”. With regard to Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc., the truth about them can even set one free from unnecessarily feeling like an “idiot”, as the sister mentioned above so eloquently put it, because of labouring under all the political propaganda, traditions, and other kinds of misinformation and wrong thinking that unfortunately surround Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc.—John 4:23; 8:32.

Huge Worldwide Effects

In addition to being hugely freeing for individual language learners, spreading the truth about the Chinese languages, Chinese characters, etc. is also important on a larger scale, since the worldwide Mandarin field, for one, is the largest language field in the world, and probably the largest language field that has ever existed in human history. For comparison, according to Ethnologue, a resource on world languages, the worldwide Mandarin field (those worldwide whose mother tongue is Mandarin) is about twice the size of the second largest worldwide language field, the Spanish field, and it’s about two and a half times the size of the third largest worldwide language field, the English field. Allowing various untruths to continue to divert and bog down the language-learning efforts of those who come to help in the worldwide Mandarin field can have incalculable overall negative effects on the preaching work in this enormous field.

Chart: Languages by First-Language Speakers—2019

So, even as we hang on to Bible truth, let us also hang on to the linguistic truths that we learn, and let us do what we can to share them with our fellow workers in the vast worldwide Chinese fields.