Tag: Related Expressions

Categories
Current Events

tōnghuò péngzhàng

tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation; rising prices]) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Prices are rising worldwide, with reports pointing to the war in Ukraine being a significant factor. As of this writing, jw.org is featuring the article “Soaring Worldwide Inflation—What Does the Bible Say?”. The Mandarin version of this article uses the expression “tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation])”, this week’s MEotW, to correspond with the English expression “inflation”. (“Quánqiú (Quán·qiú whole · globe → [worldwide] 全球) tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation])” is used to specifically correspond with “worldwide inflation”.)

Deflating “Inflation”

If you find “tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation])” to be a bit of a mouthful, then you may be pleased to know that there is an abbreviation for this in the form of the expression “tōngzhàng (tōng·zhàng {through(out) → [common] (abbr. for tōnghuò)} · {inflating (abbr. for péngzhàng)} → [inflation (abbr. for tōnghuò péngzhàng)] 通胀 通脹)”.

Another example of a Mandarin expression that is an abbreviation is “xīnguān (xīn·guān new · {hat → [corona]} → [novel coronavirus (esp. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19) (abbr. for xīnxíng guānzhuàng bìngdú)] 新冠)” (a previous MEotW), which is an abbreviation for the mouthful that is “xīnxíng guānzhuàng bìngdú ((xīn·xíng new · {mould → [type]} 新型) (guān·zhuàng {hat → [corona]} · shape 冠状 冠狀) (bìng·dú disease · poison → [virus] 病毒) → [novel coronavirus (esp. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19)])”.

Through It All…

Interestingly, the “tōng ({[(going)] through[(out)]; open [to]} [→ [common; general | connecting/communicating [to/with] [→ [logical; coherent]]]] 通)” in “tōnghuò péngzhàng ((tōng·huò {through(out) → [common]} · goods → [currency] 通货 通貨) (péngzhàng inflating 膨胀 膨脹) → [inflation; rising prices])” appears in several expressions that at first glance may not seem to be related, for example:

  • tōngguò (tōng·guò through · passing → [passing through] → [through] 通过 通過)
  • pǔtōng (pǔ·tōng common; general; universal; widespread · {through(out) → [general; common]} → [ordinary; common; average; general] 普通)
  • pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common; universal · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話)
  • gōutōng (gōu·tōng {(through) channel} · {(going) through → [communicating]} → [communicating; communication | linking up] 沟通 溝通)
  • tōnglíng (tōng·líng {(going) through to → [communicating/connecting with]} · spirits → [engaging in spiritism | spiritism] 通灵 通靈)
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”.

Categories
Theocratic

héxié

héxié ({[is] harmonious} 和谐 和諧) ← 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.

Peace and Harmony in 1 Corinthians 14:33

Note that the current English version of the New World Translation Bible (Study Edition) uses the word “peace” at 1 Corinthians 14:33, and that the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) in that verse correspondingly uses this week’s MEotW, “héxié ({[is] harmonious} 和谐 和諧)”:

1 Corinthians 14:33 (WOL English - CHS+Pinyin Comparison)

Why doesn’t the Mandarin translation use good old “píng’ān (píng’·ān {[is] flat, level, even → [[is] peaceful]} · {[is] safe, secure} (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to things being smooth and stable, safe and secure, free of danger) 平安)” or “hépíng (peace | {[is] peaceful} (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict) 和平)” to translate “peace” in this verse? Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) explains that “píng’ān (píng’·ān {[is] flat, level, even → [[is] peaceful]} · {[is] safe, secure} (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to things being smooth and stable, safe and secure, free of danger) 平安)” mainly refers to things being smooth and stable, safe and secure, free of danger, and that “hépíng (peace | {[is] peaceful} (nwtsty-CHS Appx. A2 says this term mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict) 和平)” mainly refers to the absence of war or conflict. These are specific aspects of peace that don’t necessarily apply in every context.

We can see that those who translated the current Mandarin NWT Bible felt that the context of 1 Corinthians 14:33, which discusses who should speak when during meetings for spiritual encouragement, calls for “héxié ({[is] harmonious} 和谐 和諧)” to be used in this verse to translate the Greek word ei·reʹne, since the harmony that “héxié ({[is] harmonious} 和谐 和諧)” refers to contrasts well with the dissonance and disorder that would result if a meeting degenerated into a free-for-all of people speaking whenever and however they pleased.

“Harmony” and “Harmony”

You may recall that a past MEotW pointed out that the current Mandarin NWT Bible sometimes also uses “hémù ({[is] harmonious} 和睦)” in some places to also basically refer to “harmony”. Is there any difference between “hémù ({[is] harmonious} 和睦)” and “héxié ({[is] harmonious} 和谐 和諧)”?

Some comparing of a few different dictionaries seems to show that the main meanings of these words are similar, although there are different shades of meaning in the morphemes used—the “mù ({[is] peaceful; harmonious; amicable; friendly; amiable} 睦)” in “hémù ({[is] harmonious} 和睦)” has possible meanings involving being friendly and amicable, whereas the “xié ({[is] harmonious; in accord; | [is] humorous | agree; settle} 谐 諧)” in “héxié ({[is] harmonious} 和谐 和諧)” has possible meanings involving being in accord or in agreement.