Tag: Orthography

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Culture Current Events Theocratic

jiēlián

jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連) ← 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.]

At the time of this writing, jw.org was featuring the article “Shocking Gun Violence Worldwide—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version uses this week’s MEotW, “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” to express how cases of gun violence just seem to keep on occurring.

The First Morpheme About Connecting Connects to…

The “jiē ({come into contact with}; {come close to} [→ [connect; join; put together; continue | take hold of [(the baton next)]; catch | answer (the phone) | meet; welcome | receive | take over; succeed to]] 接)” in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” seems to have possible basic meanings of “come into contact with”, or “come close to”, and it seems that from these can be derived meanings such as “connecting; joining; continuing”, that seem to apply in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)”.

This “jiē ({come into contact with}; {come close to} [→ [connect; join; put together; continue | take hold of [(the baton next)]; catch | answer (the phone) | meet; welcome | receive | take over; succeed to]] 接)” also appears in many other Mandarin expressions, such as:

  • jiēchù (jiē·chù {come into contact with} · touch; contact [→ [get in touch with; engage with]] 接触 接觸)
  • jiē ({come into contact with} → [answer] 接) diànhuà (diàn·huà electric · {spoken words} → [phone] 电话 電話)
  • jiējìn (jiē·jìn {come close to} · {to be near/close | approach} 接近)
  • jiēshòu (jiē·shòu {come into contact with → [receive]} · receive; accept → [receive; accept] 接受)
  • jiē ({coming into contact with} → [taking hold of] (the baton next) 接) xialai (xia·lai down · {to come} 下来 下來)
  • jiēzhe (jiē·zhe {coming into contact with → [taking hold of] (the baton next)} · being → [next; after that] 接着 接着/著)

    • While conducting meetings, brothers might use this expression or the previous one in relation to the part on the programme that’s coming up next.

…the Next Morpheme About Connecting

The “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} [→ [even; including | continuously; in succession; one after another]] 连 連)” in “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” also relates to connecting, with possible basic meanings of “linking to”; “joining”; “connecting to”. One interesting use of this morpheme is that “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} → [even] 连 連)…” can mean “even…”.

Some other Mandarin expressions that contain “lián ({linking to; joining; connecting to} [→ [even; including | continuously; in succession; one after another]] 连 連)” are:

  • liánjiē (lián·jiē {linking [to]; joining; connecting [to]} · {coming into contact [with] [→ [connecting; joining; linking [to] | connection; conjunction | link (on a web page) | continuously]]} 连接 連/聯接)

    • Note that this expression uses the same morphemes as “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)”, but in reverse order. It does not seem to have the exact same meanings as “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)”, however.
    • Perhaps of interest to readers of this web page, this expression can be used to refer to a link on a web page.
  • liánxiě (lián·xiě linking; joining; connecting · write → [join syllables in Pīnyīn, etc. (so they are not separated by a space) | write Chinese characters with linked strokes] 连写 連寫)

    • This is the actual expression used in the official Chinese government rules for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography, to refer to writing syllables together without a space between them. This expression is used because in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), sometimes there is no space between syllables, and sometimes spaces are used.
      • Unlike Chinese characters, which are written like bricks in the Great Wall with no spaces at all between them, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) uses spaces to divide groupings of syllables into separate words, like English, French, Spanish, etc. do. This is yet another thing that makes Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) much easier to learn and use, compared to characters.
  • liánxù (lián·xù linking; joining; connecting · continuing; {being continuous/successive}; extending; joining [→ [continuous; successive; in a row; running; serial; consecutive]] 连续 連續)

    • liánxù jù ((lián·xù linking · continuing → [serial] 连续 連續) (jù drama 剧 劇) → [TV series; serialized drama])
  • yìlián (yì·lián (with) one · linking; joining; connecting → [in a row; in succession; running] 一连 一連)

    • yìlián‐chuàn ((yì·lián (with) one · linking; joining; connecting → [in a row; in succession; running] 一连 一連)‐(chuàn {stringing together of} 串) → [series/string/chain/succession of])

Usage Examples

Here are a couple of examples of “jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact; coming close [→ [connecting; joining; continuing]]} · {joining; linking; connecting [→ [in succession; one after another; continuously]]} [→ [in a row; in succession; on end | repeatedly]] 接连 接連)” in use, taken from the above-mentioned article:

English:

Shocking Gun Violence Worldwide

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Qiāngjī (Qiāng·jī Gun · Striking → [Shooting] 枪击 槍擊) Àn ({Long, Narrow Tables or Desks} → [Cases] 案) Jiēlián (Jiē·lián {Are Coming into Contact → [Are Continuing]} · {Are Linking} → [Are in Succession] 接连 接連)‐Búduàn (Bú·duàn Not · {Breaking off} → [Continually] 不断 不斷)

English:

Terrible gun violence continues to take a tragic toll on many around the world.

Mandarin:

📖 📄 📘 Shìjiè (Shì·jiè {generation → [world]} · extent’s → [world’s] 世界) gèdì (gè·dì various · lands 各地) jiēlián (jiē·lián {coming into contact → [continuing]} · {linking → [one after another]} 接连 接連) fāshēng (fā·shēng {are having issue forth} · {are having come to life} → [are having happen] 发生 發生) chíqiāng (chí·qiāng holding · gun 持枪 持槍) bàolì (bào·lì violent · force → [violence] 暴力) shìjiàn (shì·jiàn incidents · [mw] 事件), niàngchéng (niàng·chéng {brewing to → [leading to]} · {coming to be} → [leading to] 酿成 釀成) shāngwáng (shāng·wáng injuries · {dyings → [deaths]} 伤亡 傷亡) cǎnjù (cǎn·jù tragic · {theatrical works (dramas, etc.)} → [tragedies] 惨剧 慘劇).

All Connected?

Speaking of connected things, are all these cases of gun violence somehow connected? Well, the Bible does reveal to us that this whole system of things is under the influence of Satan the Devil, the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 1 John 5:19). Those who perpetrate gun violence certainly reflect the spirit of the ruler of this world that they are part of.

Also, the Bible shows us that this world ruled by Satan is now in its last days, and so, things are especially bad now. As the above-mentioned article says:

The Bible describes our time as “the last days,” a time when people would act in fierce, brutal, and savage ways. (2 Timothy 3:1, 3)

Thankfully, since these are “the last days” of this wicked system of things, we can look forward to the time when Jehovah God replaces it with a new system under the rulership of his own Kingdom government.—Matthew 6:10.

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Culture Language Learning Science Theocratic

yīnyì

yīnyì (yīn·yì sound · translating → [transcribing | transcription] 音译 音譯) ← 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.

Units of Measurement

Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) points out that in previous editions of the Mandarin New World Translation, basically metric system units of measurement were used, although sometimes units from the original language were used. However, the whole number metric measurements that were considered best to use in the main text generally ended up being inexact conversions from the original measurements. Also, some metric units of measurement are named differently in different places. For example, some places use “mǐ (metre 米)” to mean “metre”, while other places use “gōngchǐ (gōng·chǐ {collective → [metric]} · {Chinese foot (⅓ of a metre)} → [metre] 公尺)”. So, the current version of the Mandarin NWT in most scriptures uses the original language units of measurement through what in Mandarin is called “yīnyì (yīn·yì sound · translating → [transcribing | transcription] 音译 音譯)”, and in footnotes it provides the metric equivalents and perhaps other information.

What does “yīnyì (yīn·yì sound · translating → [transcribing | transcription] 音译 音譯)” involve? Some Chinese-English dictionaries say that this word is used to mean either “transliterate”/“transliteration” or “transcribe”/“transcription”. What’s the difference? Is there a difference?

[Note on terminology: “Writing system” and “script” are synonymous, while an “orthography” is a “set of conventions [connected to a writing system/script] for writing a language, including norms of spelling, capitalization, emphasis, hyphenation, punctuation, and word breaks”.]

Transliteration?

The Wikipedia page on transliteration provides the following summaries to help define transliteration:

Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus trans- + liter-) in predictable ways

Transliteration is not primarily concerned with representing the sounds of the original but rather with representing the characters, ideally accurately and unambiguously.

Systematic transliteration is a mapping from one system of writing into another, typically grapheme to grapheme [e.g., letter to letter]. Most transliteration systems are one-to-one, so a reader who knows the system can reconstruct the original spelling.

Echoing the above quote, the academic paper “Two Steps Toward Digraphia in China” (Sino-Platonic Paper Number 134), by Xieyan Hincha, provides this rigorous definition of transliteration:

By transliteration is meant the letter-by-letter conversion of a text written in an alphabet into another alphabetical script, if necessary using diacritical marks, in such a way that the text can be correctly converted back into the original text by means of a transliteration table.

Transcription?

Now, compare the above to summaries provided by the Wikipedia page on transcription that help to define transcription:

Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of spoken language in written form.

There are two main types of linguistic transcription. Phonetic transcription focuses on phonetic and phonological properties of spoken language. Systems for phonetic transcription thus furnish rules for mapping individual sounds or phones to written symbols. Systems for orthographic transcription, by contrast, consist of rules for mapping spoken words onto written forms as prescribed by the orthography of a given language. Phonetic transcription operates with specially defined character sets, usually the International Phonetic Alphabet. [emphasis added]

The above-mentioned academic paper “Two Steps Toward Digraphia in China” also provides a rigorous definition for transcription, which seems to specifically refer to phonetic transcription, as referred to in the Wikipedia quote above:

It is time to ask what exactly is a transcription system. It is a graphic system whose elements unambiguously represent the sounds of a spoken language. The transcription can be narrow or broad: in both cases one graphic symbol represents in principle precisely one single sound.

“There is Too Much…Let Me Sum Up”


To sum up, basically transliteration refers to mapping from one writing system to another writing system, while transcription refers to mapping from a language’s sounds to a graphic system like the IPA (phonetic transcription), or to a writing system with an orthography (orthographic transcription).

Thus, I would say that it’s not really appropriate to use “yīnyì (yīn·yì sound · translating → [transcribing | transcription] 音译 音譯)”—which literally means “sound translating”—to mean “transliterate” or “transliteration”. From the literal meanings of its morphemes, “yīnyì (yīn·yì sound · translating → [transcribing | transcription] 音译 音譯)” is a much better fit for meaning “transcribe” or “transcription”, which refer to mapping the sounds of a language to a graphic system or a writing system.

Going back to Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the NWT Bible, when it says that this version in most scriptures yīnyì (yīn·yì sound · translates → [transcribes] 音译 音譯) (transcribes) the original language’s units of measurement, that means that it uses Chinese characters/Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to represent (as well as they can) how these units of measurement sounded in the original language. For example, the original language unit of measurement translated into English as “seah measure” is translated into Mandarin as “xìyà ({seah (measure)} 细亚 細亞)”.—2 Kings 7:1 (English/Mandarin).

Transliteration, Transcription, and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)

Besides offering definitions of transliteration and transcription, the academic paper “Two Steps Toward Digraphia in China” mentioned above also discusses whether these terms apply to Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音). Here are a couple of quotes:

In the case of Chinese characters, ISO has established that a transliteration between Chinese characters and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is impossible: the supposedly more than 40,000 (“ideo-phonographic”) characters cannot be represented by the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. There is no doubt about that. This clearly shows that 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) is not a transliteration system, because it does not fulfill all the criteria of a transliteration system.

If 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) were a transcription system, this table would contain three state-prescribed violations of the transcription principle, namely: y+i, y+in, and y+ing. In all three of these cases, two letters represent one sound. The same is true when writing y+u and w+u. This rule does not concern phonetic transcription; rather, it is an orthographic rule: in these cases <y> and <w> are artificial and arbitrary initial symbols. But phonetically these are not consonants. Consequently, in this respect 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) is not a transcription system.

The above quote explains that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) does not qualify as a phonetic transcription system. However, it shows that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) has orthographic rules connected to it, meaning it could be used for orthographic transcription…

No, Could It Be?

So, this academic paper concludes that Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) is not a system for transliterating Chinese characters, nor is it a system for phonetically transcribing Mandarin speech. What is it, then? The paper comes to this conclusion:

As is well known, the Chinese leadership refuses to recognize Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) as a script and to permit digraphia [the state of having two standard scripts, Chinese characters and Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)]. But scientific facts demonstrate that 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), including its orthography, is a writing system for Chinese. [emphasis added]

Categories
Current Events

qiāngjī àn

qiāngjī (qiāng·jī gun · striking → [shooting] 枪击 槍擊) àn ({long, narrow table or desk} → [incident] 案) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcards”

Gun violence is unfortunately still all over the news media. As of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “School Shootings—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses the expression “qiāngjī (qiāng·jī gun · striking → [shooting] 枪击 槍擊) àn ({long, narrow table or desk} → [incident] 案)”, this week’s MEotW, to correspond with the English expression “shooting”. (“Xiàoyuán (Xiào·yuán school · {garden → [area for special purposes]} → [school grounds] 校园 校園) qiāngjī (qiāng·jī gun · striking → [shooting] 枪击 槍擊) àn ({long, narrow table or desk} → [incident] 案)” is used to specifically correspond with “school shooting”.)

What’s on the Table?

Interestingly, the literal meaning of “àn ({long, narrow table or desk} [→ [case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal]] 案)” is “long, narrow table or desk”. (In fact, the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, edited by John DeFrancis and Victor H. Mair, among others, says that “àn ({long, narrow table or desk} [→ [case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal]] 案)” has a meaning, from archaeology, of “rectangular stand for supporting wine vessels”.) At the same time, “àn ({long, narrow table or desk} [→ [case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal]] 案)” is also used to effectively mean “case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal”.

This may be because a table or desk is often used to hold certain things related to a specific set of information or a specific area of concern. For example, “bureau”, which means “desk”, is used in “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)”, the name of the American federal government agency that is focused on domestic (internal to the USA) intelligence and security, while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is focused on foreign intelligence.

Perhaps unexpectedly, “àn ({long, narrow table or desk} [→ [case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal]] 案)” appears in the word “dá’àn (dá’·àn answering; replying · {long, narrow table or desk → [set of information]} → [answer; reply; solution] 答案)”, which effectively means “answer; reply; solution”. In “dá’àn (dá’·àn answering; replying · {long, narrow table or desk → [set of information]} → [answer; reply; solution] 答案)”, “àn ({long, narrow table or desk} [→ [case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal]] 案)” apparently literally refers to a table or desk which holds a set of information that provides an answer or reply.

As shown in the MEotW post on “Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音)”, “àn ({long, narrow table or desk} [→ [case (of law/etc.); incident | record; file; set of information | plan; proposal]] 案)” also appears in “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)”, an official name for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音).

Easier to Decipher

Sometimes “qiāngjī (qiāng·jī gun · striking → [shooting] 枪击 槍擊) àn ({long, narrow table or desk} → [incident] 案)” is rendered as a single word. However, this blog and other Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources render such expressions as two separate words, to make them easier to decipher and read. The following excerpt from the MEotW post on “Liánhé Guó ((Lián·hé United · {Closed → [Joined]} 联合 聯合) (Guó Nations 国 國) → [United Nations])” explains further:

Avoiding Mental Indigestion

Another thing that may be noted about the rendering “Liánhé Guó ((Lián·hé United · {Closed → [Joined]} 联合 聯合) (Guó Nations 国 國) → [United Nations])” is that it has a space between “Liánhé (Lián·hé United · {Closed → [Joined]} 联合 聯合)” and “Guó (Nations 国 國)”, whereas this expression is often rendered as the single word “Liánhéguó (Lián·hé·guó United · {Closed → [Joined]} · Nations → [United Nations] 联合国 聯合國)”. In this blog and in other resources that contain Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, such added spaces are included in certain expressions so that they are easier to parse (mentally digest and separate into meaningful parts) and read.

Regarding differing Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) renderings, the MEotW post for “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)” said:

Regarding standards and conventions, even officially recommended ones, for things like language and writing, views and practices vary in different places, and at different times.

When it comes to Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), another factor to keep in mind is that due primarily to cultural prejudice, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) has simply not been used much overall, relatively speaking, especially as a full writing system on its own. So, it has not really gone through much of the process of receiving the widely agreed upon tweaks and refinements that a system typically receives as it gets tried out and put to extensive use by many people.

As a relatively “young” alphabetical writing system, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) can often benefit from following the example of a more “experienced” alphabetical writing system like the English writing system. It seems reasonable to conclude that this is the case with “Liánhé Guó ((Lián·hé United · {Closed → [Joined]} 联合 聯合) (Guó Nations 国 國) → [United Nations])” following the word separation example of “United Nations”. In contrast, “Liánhéguó (Lián·hé·guó United · {Closed → [Joined]} · Nations → [United Nations] 联合国 聯合國)” is kind of like “Unitednations”—significantly harder to decipher and read.

The above-mentioned MEotW post concludes:

In the end, what matters most re how anything is written is not just what is officially recommended or what happens to be popular among changing, imperfect humans. Rather, what matters most is what really works best to accomplish the goal of writing: To communicate to readers. This is especially true when God-honouring and life-saving Bible truths need to be communicated. So, this blog and the other Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources will continue to seek to render Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) in ways that maximize how clearly, easily, effectively, and appropriately it communicates with readers.

Indeed, “qiāngjī (qiāng·jī gun · striking → [shooting] 枪击 槍擊) àn ({long, narrow table or desk} → [incident] 案)” is easier to decipher and read as two separate words, similarly to how “shooting incident” is easier to decipher and read than “shootingincident”.