Tag: New World Translation Bible

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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 Science Theocratic

Yètèluó

Yètèluó (Jethʹro 叶特罗 葉特羅) ← 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.

Avoiding Rarely‐Used, Hard‐to‐Recognize Characters

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. The first example it provides is that “Yètèluó (Jethʹro (old way of writing with characters) 叶忒罗 葉忒羅)” was changed to this week’s MEotW, “Yètèluó (Jethʹro 叶特罗 葉特羅)”.—Exodus 3:1.

Exodux 3:1 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

While the pronunciation and the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) were kept the same, a relatively rarely-used, hard-to-recognize character (“忒”) was replaced with a different, more common and recognizable character (“特”). As we can see, the translators who worked on the current version of the Mandarin NWT recognized that it was good to preserve the spoken pronunciation of the expression, an expression that as a whole was not changed. At the same time, they did not consider the particular character that was replaced to be sacred. This reinforces to us the basic principle of linguistics (language science) that SPEECH is primary, not writing, which shows up the traditional and ongoing Chinese cultural emphasis on characters as being fundamentally misplaced.

A Real-Life Example

The importance of avoiding unnecessarily hard-to-recognize characters was well demonstrated by the incident discussed in the tiandi.info blog post “An Avoidable Minefield of Human Tradition and Cultural Pride” (Email me if you need login information, and include information on who referred you and/or what group/cong. you are in.):

A few nights ago, my Mandarin congregation had a Memorial meeting that went well overall. However, there was a momentary hiccup that I think we Chinese field publishers can learn from.

The speaker who gave the talk is a fluent, eloquent native Mandarin speaker originally from mainland China, and he is one of the best Mandarin speakers in a city of several Mandarin congregations. In fact, he was one of the instructors in the very first official Mandarin class ever held in this country. However, while reading a scripture from his paper Bible as he was giving the Memorial talk, he, of all people, just…got…stuck…on…a…Chinese…character…. He struggled with it for what felt like quite a while, and eventually, a young brother who was serving as an attendant at the side of the stage approached and gave him a hint, and he was able to carry on.

…

While not a showstopper, this unfortunate incident was indeed an awkward showpauser, during the very meeting, out of all the meetings in the entire service year, at which the highest proportion of interested ones from the field was present—truly a nightmare scenario for anyone who gives Chinese talks!

FYI, in this case, the character that the brother couldn’t read was the “虺” in “虺蛇”, which has been replaced in the current version of the Mandarin NWT with “眼镜蛇”. (Isaiah 11:8) (While not being especially visually complex compared to some other Chinese characters, “虺” is relatively rarely used, ranking way down at #5543 on Prof. Dá Jùn (Dá {Tow Rope} (surname) 笪) ((Jùn {Fine Horse} 骏 駿) (Associate Professor of Linguistics, Director of the Media Center for Language Acquisition Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Middle Tennessee State University))’s character frequency list of Modern Chinese. “眼” is #281 on that list, and “镜” is #1251.)

Mitigations and Alternatives

In a way, though, even such fine efforts on the part of the NWT translators, working with what they have, are mere mitigations. On a more basic level, the incident mentioned above also highlights the problematic nature of the Chinese characters writing system itself, which makes it all too possible for such hard-to-recognize characters to exist, without any reasonable, consistent, and reliable system to work out their pronunciations. This makes any block of Chinese characters a potential minefield that can blow up in the face of even the most knowledgeable and experienced native speaker, because even such a one is still a mere imperfect human contending with the inhumanly complex and numerous Chinese characters, of which there are over 100,000.

In contrast, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), with its Latin alphabet letters and four tone symbols, is a simple, elegant full writing system for Modern Standard Mandarin that is eminently learnable by mere imperfect humans. Thus, it is an eminently good thing that Jehovah, through his organization, has made official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) available for the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible, unlikely and uncommon though such a provision is from a worldly, human viewpoint. (Work is also ongoing to provide unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the current version of the Mandarin NWT, as language-learning material, not as spiritual food.)

Categories
Culture Language Learning Theocratic

bùzú

bùzú (bù·zú sectional · {ethnic group} → [tribe] 部族) ← 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.

Adding Context

In past Mandarin Bible translations, a name like “Yóudà (Judah 犹大 猶大)” might be used to refer to a man, a tribe, a nation, etc., and this could cause readers to be confused. So, the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) translates such names more clearly, for example using “Yóudà (Judah 犹大 猶大) bùzú (bù·zú sectional · {ethnic group} → [tribe] 部族)” to mean “the tribe of Judah”, using “Yóudà (Judah 犹大 猶大) guó (nation 国 國)” to mean “the nation of Judah”, using “Yóudà (Judah 犹大 猶大) dìqū (dì·qū land · region 地区 地區)” to mean “the land of Judah”, etc.—Mínshùjì (Mín·shù·jì {The People} · Numbers · Record → [Numbers] 民数记 民數記) 1:7; Lièwángjì Shàng ((Liè·wáng·jì {Series of} · Kings · Record 列王纪 列王紀) (Shàng Upper 上) → [1 Kings]) 13:1; Níxīmǐjì (Níxīmǐ·jì Nehemiah · Record 尼希米记 尼希米記) 11:3.

Numbers 1:7 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

By the way, the “bù (part; section [→ [unit; ministry; department; board]] | [mw for large books, films, machines, vehicles, etc.] 部)” in “bùzú (bù·zú sectional · {ethnic group} → [tribe] 部族)” (this week’s MEotW) is also the one that appears in the well-known expression “bùfen (bù·fen part; section · component; share; part; portion 部分)”.

Solving “The Homophone Problem”

A section of the article “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Was Plan A” addresses the common contention that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is not suitable as a writing system for Mandarin because of the high number of homophones in Mandarin:

Some may object, saying that there are so many homophones in Chinese that the characters are needed to tell them apart from each other. (A homophone is a word that has the same pronunciation as another word, but that has a different meaning from it.) However, consider: When people are just speaking Mandarin, with no characters in sight to help them, do they have problems understanding each other because of all the homophones? Can blind Mandarin-speakers, who cannot see characters, still “see” what people mean when those people speak Mandarin? Native Mandarin-speakers have confirmed to me that no, homophones are not a significant problem in spoken Mandarin—people can use the context and understand each other okay. So, people can use the context and understand each other okay when using Pīnyīn too, since Pīnyīn directly represents the sound of spoken Mandarin.

…

…other ways [besides resorting to characters] to alleviate the problem. Those other ways could include:

  • Including as much clarifying context in the written language as is necessary, as is done in the spoken language
  • Reducing the number of homophones by
    • Adding syllables to existing homophones

The above-described practice used in the current Mandarin NWT, of adding expressions like “bùzú (bù·zú sectional · {ethnic group} → [tribe] 部族)” to expressions like “Yóudà (Judah 犹大 猶大)”, is an example of adding context, and also an example of reducing the number of expressions that sound the same by adding syllables to existing expressions that sound the same, to clarify what means what without resorting to the homophone-enabling crutch that is the characters. In fact, in this case, disambiguation by using different characters is not an option anyway because “Yóudà (Judah 犹大 猶大)” must be written with the same characters whether it means “the man named Judah”, “the tribe of Judah”, “the nation of Judah”, etc. Theoretically, one might contemplate the possibility of using different characters to represent “Judah” depending on whether it refers to “the man named Judah”, “the tribe of Judah”, “the nation of Judah”, etc., but that way lies even madder madness than the madness that already is the Chinese characters!