Tag: Speech

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Dōng‐Xī

Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

The MEotW post on “hūxī (hū·xī {breathing out}; exhaling · {breathing in}; inhaling → [breathing] 呼吸)”, from about a year ago, includes the following passage:

Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Ballad of East and West” begins with these lines:

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

The first line quoted above is often referred to in order to emphasize how the gap between East and West can seem insurmountable. (By the way, “twain” is an archaic term for “two”. So, “never the twain shall meet” means “never the two shall meet”.) However, there is more to the poem.

The other lines quoted above express that individuals who are spiritually strong enough to do so can overcome any differences in culture, nationality, race, class, place of birth, etc. that may happen to exist between them.

In Mandarin, one way in which East meets West is in the expression “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)”, this week’s MEotW. Many find it kind of cute or funny that the expression “dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing; something] 东西 東西)”, which uses the same characters as “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” and thus literally means “east west”, is used in Mandarin to mean “thing”. However, especially in these days of significant tensions between the USA and China, for example, it’s good to also soberly consider that “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)”, as in “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西) fāng (directions’ → [sides’] 方) guānxi (guān·xi {closings → [involvings]} · {tyings → [relatings]} → [relations] 关系 關係)” (“East-West relations”), is also a thing.

Same Characters, Different Pronunciations, etc.

First of all, let us note that although “dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing; something] 东西 東西)” and “Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” are written with the same characters, they should be written differently in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音), since they have different pronunciations and different effective meanings.

Some like to say that characters are a good way to disambiguate (tell apart) the many homophones (different words that sound the same) that exist in Mandarin. (Actually, the best way to do so, which people use all the time when speaking Mandarin, is to consider the context.) However, “dōngxi (dōng·xi east · west → [thing; something] 东西 東西)”/“Dōng (East 东 東)‐Xī (West 西)” vs. “东西”/“东西” is a clear example of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) being able, in certain situations, to work better than characters at representing different words clearly and unambiguously.

East Meeting West in the Mandarin Field

With so many publishers from the English, Spanish, etc. fields who have admirably come to help out in the Mandarin field, many occasions thus arise for East and West to meet. How should we rise to such occasions as God’s people who “are no part of the world”, with its divided East and West?—John 15:19.

Preparing this post reminded me that I had written about this topic before in the tiandi.info blog. One example is the post “ ‘To Be More Like Us’ ”. Here is a quote from it:

While the help provided by Westerners in the Chinese field is greatly beneficial and greatly appreciated, the work we are all doing in the Chinese field is, not to help Chinese people to be more like white people, but to help Chinese-speaking people to join us, Jehovah’s people, in working to be more like Jehovah wants us to be, a condition which none of us have attained to yet, regardless of our racial, ethnic, or cultural background.—Philippians 3:12, 13.

(If you need login information for the parts of tiandi.info that require it, request it by email, and include information on how you learned of tiandi.info and/or what group/cong. you are in.)

“What Nationality Are You?”

The tiandi.info post linked to in the quoted passage above, “What Do You Think Regarding Which Culture is More Godly?”, also contains many good points in this regard, such as some concerning what Scientific American called “buried prejudice”, prejudice that we may unconsciously have and act on. The comments for this post also contain some great stuff, such as this:

Since I had a number of friends from several ——- —— countries, I wanted to test my knowledge and see if my assumption was right so I asked him, “What nationality are you?”. He said proudly with a smile, “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses”. I said, “I mean your family name. I was just curious to know where it comes from”. He said again, “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses!” but this time more firmly and with no smile. I was a little taken aback at first but then I thought about it and really appreciated his answer.

It puts things in perspective. From a higher perspective that is, say, from Jehovah’s or the angels. When they look down they see either those serving Jehovah or those who are not. All the other different types of distinctions and categories here are from man, man under the influence of Satan. The most important heritage we have is our spiritual heritage.

…

I can’t say that I am completely free from the influence of the world’s views but I’m trying to view things the way this brother so boldly did. I never saw him again and have since forgotten his name but I have never forgotten his answer and what was most important to him.

No matter what foreign language field we are working in, we need to help our students to take up the “culture” of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jehovah’s standards, views and ways of doing things are superior to any other culture of this world. That’s the best culture.

Additionally, the above-mentioned post contains this image and associated caption:

The Chinese characters “東” (“East”) and “西” (“West”) on a background of coloured static

Both Eastern and Western cultures emerged from and are part of the chaos of the world alienated from God.

Although East-West relations in the world—especially China-US relations—have been becoming strained lately, we who have come out of the world can and should rise above such petty worldly contradictions and conflicts, and continue to move forward together on the narrow road to everlasting life in Jehovah God’s peaceful, united, and harmonious new world.—John 15:19; Matthew 7:13, 14; Isaiah 2:4; Revelation 21:1–5.

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Culture Current Events History Language Learning Science Technology

xuānchuán

xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

Several MEotW posts, including last week’s post on “cì’ěr (cì’·ěr {stabs; pricks → [irritates; pierces]} · ear → [grating on the ear; jarring; ear-piercing] 刺耳)”, have mentioned propaganda. So, it seems that it’s about time to consider the Mandarin expression “xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳)”, which is often used to translate “propaganda”.

Morphemic Breakdown

The “xuān (declare; proclaim; announce 宣)” in “xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳)” means “declare; proclaim; announce”, and it also appears in expressions like “xuānbù (xuān·bù declare; proclaim; announce · declare; spread; announce; publish; proclaim 宣布 宣布/佈)”, “xuānjiǎng (xuān·jiǎng declare; proclaim; announce · {speak of → [explain]} 宣讲 宣講)”, “xuānyáng (xuān·yáng declare; proclaim; announce · {raise → [make known]} 宣扬 宣揚)”, etc.

The “chuán ({pass on}; {hand down}; spread; transmit [→ [summon]] 传 傳)” in “xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳)” means “pass on; hand down; spread; transmit”, and it also appears in expressions like “chuándào (chuán·dào spreading · way → [preaching] 传道 傳道)”, “Chuándàoshū (Chuán·dào·shū Spreading · Way · Book → [Ecclesiastes] 传道书 傳道書)”, “chuánjiǎng (chuán·jiǎng spread · {speak of; say; tell} [(that)] 传讲 傳講)”, “chuántǒng (chuán·tǒng {passed on} · {gathered together (things) → [interconnected system]} → [tradition | traditional] 传统 傳統)”, etc.

The above-mentioned morphemes in “xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳)” are both basically verbs, and “xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳)” itself is also basically a verb. However, it’s also used as a noun, making it a verbal noun, or a gerundial noun, in those cases.

How Bad Is It?

As mentioned in the excellent Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) resource, “it seems 宣传 [xuānchuán] is a neutral word in Chinese (can be either positive or negative)”. Indeed, the morphemes that make up “xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring; proclaiming; announcing · {passing on}; spreading; transmitting → [conducting propaganda; propagating; disseminating; publicizing | propaganda] 宣传 宣傳)”, mentioned above, are themselves both morally neutral. Like any technology, whether the things that these morphemes represent result in good or harm depends on how they are used. Unfortunately, we are now living in the last days of a world ruled by Satan the Devil, a world filled with self-seeking people who totally would misuse anything that would potentially enable them to exert influence over other people.—2 Timothy 3:1–5; 1 John 5:19.

It should not be surprising, then, that the worldly Chinese governing authorities may at times disseminate what many would recognize as propaganda—biased, misleading distortions of the truth meant to promote certain viewpoints, political or cultural objectives, etc. Add to that how Eastern culture generally encourages people to conform to the group and not question authority, and it’s not surprising that many who grew up marinated in Chinese culture have come to just accept such propaganda as fact, as just the way things are in the Chinese world.

As for the West, even though it has more of a culture of questioning authority, it, along with the world in general that the Internet can reach, has been experiencing a rise in misinformation and disinformation. Social media and other technologies that have become available have given people more power to select what information they want to take in, and, egged on by engagement-seeking algorithms, many have unfortunately chosen to just focus on information sources that tell them what they want to hear, whether it’s true or not. As the Bible foretold long ago:

For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled. They will turn away from listening to the truth and give attention to false stories.
—2 Timothy 4:3, 4.

As Jehovah’s people, we especially need to be wary of any worldly propaganda, because we want to be the true worshippers spoken of by Jesus, ones who “must worship with spirit and truth”.—John 4:23, 24.

Unfortunately, these days, even something as basically human as language gets politicized, so even just being language learners in the Mandarin field, we still need to watch out for worldly propaganda. Below are a couple of commonly accepted beliefs about the Chinese languages that are actually propaganda, not truth.

Propaganda About “Dialects”

“Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc. are just dialects of the one Chinese language.” The truth is that being mutually unintelligible, Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc. are really different languages, like French and English are different languages. The erroneous belief that Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc. are just dialects of the one Chinese language has been promoted by the worldly central governing authorities in China to bolster the idea that China is indeed one big happy political entity that should have a central government—them.

Historically, though, it wasn’t always the case that there was just one government over the land that China now occupies. That didn’t become the case until Qín Shǐhuáng ((Qín {Qin (dynasty)} 秦) (Shǐ·huáng Beginning · Emperor 始皇) (the founder of the Qín dynasty and the first emperor of China)) conquered the other Warring States—which were peers of his own state of Qín ({Qin (one of the Warring States)} 秦)—and became the first emperor of a forcefully unified China. If it wasn’t for this, China could conceivably have become like modern-day Europe, with several peer states which are recognized as having their own distinct languages and cultures.

So, there is no need to allow the idea that Mandarin, Cantonese, etc. are just dialects to sabotage our efforts to learn Mandarin well by making us think that we can just take Cantonese, etc. and twist it a little to get Mandarin—all we would get then is a twisted mess!

Propaganda and the Characters

“Chinese characters are the primary aspect of the Chinese languages.” The truth is that when it comes to human language, speech is primary, not writing.

However, given how so many people around the world are so enchanted with the visually intricate Chinese characters, some may feel that the characters give China a certain amount of cultural—and maybe even political—soft power. Many also feel that characters have a unifying effect on Chinese people, since they use characters to write even if they speak different Chinese languages, as explained above. Thus, many may also feel that there may be some political advantages to characters for China’s worldly central ruling authorities. So, they may thus be motivated to promote Chinese characters over, say, a system like Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) that doesn’t have the same perceived visual and cultural pizzaz that the characters have, and that is only for Mandarin.

The truth is, though, that there is really no technical requirement for any language, Chinese or otherwise, to be written using Chinese characters—Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) works fine as a writing system for Mandarin without incurring the extraordinary costs in time and effort that the characters do, and separate but similar alphabetical systems can conceivably be designed and used for other Chinese languages as well.

Re the supposed unifying effect of the Chinese characters, there is not necessarily really much of a unifying effect among the Mandarin-speakers, Cantonese-speakers, Japanese-speakers, Korean-speakers, etc. who may use characters to write, any more than the use of the Latin alphabet unifies English-speakers, French-speakers, Italian-speakers, Mandarin-speakers, etc. who may use it to write. An especially stark current example of the relative insignificance of any unifying effect that a script or writing system may have is that unfortunately, Russia and Ukraine have hardly been unified because of their both using the Cyrillic script.

We who are Jehovah’s people in particular don’t need a product of human culture like the Chinese characters to unite us—we are united by the culture of spirit and truth from Jehovah God himself!—John 4:23, 24.

Don’t Be a Gullible “Tourist”!

As Jehovah’s people, let us make sure we are advancing the interests of God’s Kingdom, and not unwittingly serving the interests of worldly Chinese governments. As missionaries and rescue workers in the Mandarin field, and not just tourists (email me for login information, and include information on who referred you and/or what group/cong. you are in), let us be focused on what really helps us to do our God-honouring and life-saving work better. Let us not be misled by the self-serving xuānchuán (xuān·chuán declaring · spreading → [propaganda] 宣传 宣傳), the propaganda, from Satan’s world.

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Culture Language Learning Science Technology Theocratic

cì’ěr

cì’ěr (cì’·ěr {stabs; pricks → [irritates; pierces]} · ear → [grating on the ear; jarring; ear-piercing] 刺耳) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

I have long especially liked 1 Corinthians 13. It contains counsel on what really does and doesn’t matter in life, an extensive description and definition of the most important kind of love, and a sublime discussion about the need to become complete, mature, as a person. As these apply to life in general, so too do they apply to our lives as Mandarin field language learners.

As Mandarin field language learners, it can benefit us greatly to consider what we can learn from 1 Corinthians 13, and along the way, we can also consider some of the Mandarin expressions used in that chapter in the current version of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

“Clashing”

This week’s MEotW, “cì’ěr (cì’·ěr {stabs; pricks → [irritates; pierces]} · ear → [grating on the ear; jarring; ear-piercing] 刺耳)”, occurs in verse 1 (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “cì’ěr” in 1 Co. 13:1 (nwtsty, CHS+_Pīnyīn_ WOL)

(Dark mode for the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY (WOL) website, as shown in the above image, can be enabled in the Safari web browser by using the Noir Safari extension.)

“Cì’ěr (Cì’·ěr {stabs; pricks → [irritates; pierces]} · ear → [grating on the ear; jarring; ear-piercing] 刺耳)” literally means “stabs ear”, and is used in the Mandarin New World Translation Bible’s rendering of 1 Corinthians 13:1 to translate the “clashing” in “clashing cymbal”. In this context, “cì’ěr (cì’·ěr {stabs; pricks → [irritates; pierces]} · ear → [grating on the ear; jarring; ear-piercing] 刺耳)” effectively means “grating on the ear; jarring; ear-piercing”.

Mandarin Field Need-Greater? Or Ear-Grater 😬?

First, let me establish that of course Jehovah and we who are in the Mandarin field deeply appreciate those who have been moved by love to come and try to learn Mandarin and help out in the Mandarin field. Given that, sometimes things do happen that can literally and figuratively grate on the ears of those who truly serve in this field out of love, and who have become acquainted with what good Mandarin sounds like.

The Tone Beast…

One time, a brother I know whose mother tongue is English gave a Mandarin talk during which so many of his tones were off that at times I was genuinely having trouble making out what words he was saying, even when I was listening closely. After that meeting, when I tried to kindly advise him that this was the case, he jokingly quipped something like ‘Well, at least I made you listen closely!’

Maybe this brother really did try his best, and maybe his reply was just an attempt to lighten the mood with some humour. He may also have felt safe using some humour because we know each other and generally get along fairly well. However, his words in this case might also be taken to show that he took his responsibility to give a good Mandarin talk a bit lightly. If so, things said with such a flippant attitude could grate on the ears of someone who views with appropriate seriousness the God-honouring and life-saving work that needs to be done in the Mandarin field.

It is true that especially for those whose mother tongue is, say, English, the tones can be one of the most difficult aspects of Mandarin for them to master, since that way of using pitch (how high or low a “note” is) is so different from how they use pitch in English. The sincere efforts of Mandarin field language learners in this regard are much appreciated!

…And How to Tame It

For those of us who are trying to learn Mandarin for the Mandarin field, it should help if we keep the following points in mind regarding Mandarin tones:

  • Tones are just as important to conveying meaning in Mandarin as vowels are to conveying meaning in English. In English, if someone says a wrong vowel, that person is not actually saying the word that person meant to say, and that person is not expressing the meaning that person meant to express. For example, there’s a world of difference between “I love you” and “I leave you”, even though it’s “only” the matter of a single vowel. Similarly, in Mandarin, if someone uses a wrong tone, that person is saying a whole different word from what that person meant to say, as shown by the classic example of “mā (ma; mom; mummy; mother 妈 媽)/má (hemp; flax; linen | (surname) | {[is] pocked; pockmarked; pitted; spotty} [→ [[is] rough; coarse]] | numbed; tingling | sesame 麻 麻/蔴)/mǎ (horse [(surname)] [→ [knight chess piece; horse piece in Chinese chess | [is] big; large]] 马 馬)/mà ({verally abuse}; curse; swear; {call names} [→ [condemn; rebuke; reprove; scold]] 骂 罵/駡)/ma ([? ptcl for “yes/no” questions] 吗 嗎)”.
  • In languages like English, we may change the pitch of what we are saying to do things like add emphasis, ask a question, etc. In Mandarin, though, as explained above, the tone of a syllable—which involves how pitch is used while saying it—is an essential part of how that syllable represents meaning. So, while in English the way we use pitch while saying a word may be negotiable based on how we want to emphasize it, etc., in Mandarin, tones are non-negotiable, like our stand on blood transfusions is non-negotiable. A first tone, for example, must always be recognizable as a first tone and must not be changed into a fourth tone or something, no matter how much we want to emphasize a Mandarin word with a first tone in it!
    • How can we add emphasis in Mandarin, then? Study 10 of the Teaching (th) brocure, entitled “Modulation”, tells us that ‘we can convey ideas clearly and stir emotion by varying our volume, pitch, and pace’. So, while the pitches of Mandarin tones are non-negotiable, we can still add emphasis in Mandarin by varying volume—by speaking softer or louder—and/or by varying pace—by speaking slower or faster.
  • Wrong tones can be really cì’ěr (cì’·ěr {stabbing → [irritating]} · ear → [grating on the ear] 刺耳) because, as mentioned above, tones are made of pitch, and when one speaks with wrong pitches, it’s a lot like singing off-key—very grating to the ears of those who know how the music of the language should sound! 🎵

With the above points in mind, do the following:

  • Practise recognizing the different tones and telling them apart when listening to Mandarin speech. This is especially important if you have just recently started to learn Mandarin, and are not used to what Mandarin tones sound like yet. Such practice is needed to gradually train your hearing. As it is with determining if a musical instrument is in tune or not, eventually, with focus and practice, recognizing Mandarin tones will become easier, even second nature.
    • As you get better at being able to recognize good Mandarin tones when you hear them, that will in turn help you to make sure you speak with good Mandarin tones. Speaking of which…
  • Practise speaking with correct Mandarin tones. This is also especially important if you have just recently started to learn Mandarin, and are not used to speaking with Mandarin tones yet. Such practice is needed to gradually train your body’s system for producing speech. Beware: If you let yourself get into bad habits early on involving the tones, then you’ll have to walk a long, hard road to get rid of these bad habits later. As it is with playing a musical instrument well, eventually, with focus, study, and practice, speaking with correct Mandarin tones will become easier, even second nature. 🎸

The Cantonese Twist

As discussed in the MEotW post on “fāngyán (fāng·yán {direction → [place]} · speech → [topolect; dialect (common but misleading translation)] 方言)”, to those who know Mandarin well, Cantonese that is twisted to try to make it sound like Mandarin sounds awful:

Well, as someone who along with many others has come to the Mandarin field from the Cantonese field, I have had the dubious pleasure of observing how some have tried to speak Mandarin by just taking the Cantonese they knew and twisting it a little, since they were relying on the conventional wisdom that Mandarin and Cantonese are just different dialects of the same language. As well-meaning as they may have been, the results were often just as bad as when someone sings badly off-key, or as Star Trek fans may say, they often sounded like the language equivalent of a transporter accident 🙀. Even after decades in the Mandarin field, some publishers who had come over from the Cantonese field still say some Mandarin words with Cantonese-y pronunciations.

Any Cantonese-speakers who help out in the Mandarin field are very much appreciated, but it would be good for everyone involved if they realized that, contrary to worldly political propaganda, Mandarin and Cantonese are not just different dialects of the same Chinese language. Rather, as linguists recognize, Mandarin and Cantonese, being mutually unintelligible, are really different languages, like French and English are different languages. So, we should all understand and expect that as different languages, Mandarin and Cantonese have different phonologies. That is, they basically sound different, not just like slightly twisted versions of each other. Some, in fact, have compared how different Mandarin and Cantonese sound to how different chickens and ducks sound.

Avoiding Being “a Clashing Cymbal”

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal.
—1 Corinthians 13:1.

Chinese people are known for being very appreciative of Westerners who try to speak Mandarin or one of the other Chinese languages, and for often praising the spoken results of such efforts as being much better than they actually are. Beginning Chinese language learners especially are often given lots of leeway when it comes to how they sound.

After a few years or even decades, though, does our Mandarin speech, for example, still sound not much better than it did when we started learning Mandarin? Some have observed that those who focus on Chinese characters and pay relatively little attention to Mandarin speech often—unsurprisingly—don’t speak Mandarin very well. Some may say that their focusing on Chinese characters shows their love for Chinese culture, but is it not more important for Christians especially to show love for Chinese people by learning to actually understand what they say and learning to speak to them understandably? And as Witnesses of Jehovah, is it not more important to show love for Jehovah by being able to speak clearly, understandably, and movingly in Mandarin about him and the good news of his Kingdom?

While a lot of leeway is rightly given to beginning Mandarin language leaners, one not progressing after learning Mandarin for a long time might in some cases give at least the impression of a lack of caring, a lack of love on the part of that one. (Hebrews 5:12) As humans, we can often tell if something has not been made, done, or said lovingly, with care, for example, if not much attention to “details” like tones is evident. On the other hand, even if some music is performed or something is said in a way that may show only a modest amount of skill or talent, but that does show a lot of love, people often appreciate that more than if one is displaying great skill or talent, but is only doing so to show off or something. Such a one would indeed seem like “a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal”, or, as the Mandarin NWT Bible says, a “chǎonào ({(disturbing by) making noise} 吵闹 吵鬧) de (’s 的) luó (gong 锣 鑼), cì’ěr (cì’·ěr {stabbing → [irritating]} · ear → [grating on the ear] 刺耳) de (’s 的) bó (cymbal 钹 鈸)”.—1 Corinthians 13:1 (English, Mandarin).