Tag: Translation

Categories
Theocratic

hùdòng

hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Hùdòng Shì Shèngjīng Kèchéng ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Hù·dòng {Each Other} · Moving → [Interactive] 互动 互動) (Shì (Type 式) (Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course (lff)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lff)) book. Looking at the Mandarin title of this book, you may have wondered: What does “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)” mean?

_Enjoy Life Forever!_ bk. title page (jw.org CHS+Pinyin)

(The above screenshot from jw.org shows light-coloured text on a dark background because I have set jw.org’s relatively new Appearance Settings to do so. As the related JW News article says, “some users prefer this setting because the screen is less bright. This may help reduce eyestrain, especially at night or in other low-light environments.” Most Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resources (short link: tiandi.info/pyp) also have a Night Theme available, that can be turned on or off using the ☀️/🌙 button on their web pages.)

You may surmise that “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)” corresponds with the “Interactive” in Enjoy Life Forever!​—An Interactive Bible Course, and you would be right. Now, let’s take a closer look at the morphemes in “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)” to see how they work in a way that makes “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)” correspond as well as it does with the English word “interactive”, which means “acting upon or influencing each other”.

Morphemic Breakdown

As the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)” shows us, its first morpheme “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” means “mutually; [(with)] each other”. It’s the “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” in “hùxiāng ({each other} 互相) gǔlì (gǔ·lì {drum → [rouse]} · encourage → [encourage] 鼓励 鼓勵)”, which means “encourage one another”.

The other morpheme “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” basically means “move”. In some contexts, it means to move physically, as it does in “dòngwù (dòng·wù moving · thing → [animal] 动物 動物)”, which literally means “moving thing”, and is used to mean “animal”. (Interestingly, the English word “animal” is related to the word “animate”, which can mean “bring into action or movement”.) In other contexts, “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” means to move emotionally, as it does in “gǎndòng (gǎn·dòng feeling · moved | {make to feel} · move 感动 感動)”. In yet other contexts, “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” is used to effectively mean “change; alter”.

Breaking down “hùdòng (hù·dòng mutually; {[(with)] each other} · moving → [interacting; interaction; interactive] 互动 互動)” into its morphemes helps us to see that “hù- (mutually; {[(with)] each other} 互)” corresponds with the “inter-” part of “interactive”, and that “dòng (move [→ [stir | arouse | change; alter]] 动 動)” corresponds with the “active” (“acting [up]on”) part.

Interactive Indeed

The English word “interactive” has a particular meaning in the world of computing, which is “responds to user activity”.

Interestingly, the Enjoy Life Forever! book even has some interactivity in its paper form, with its “Lesson completed on:” and “Goal” sections allowing room for a user to write in them with a pencil or pen. This is in addition to the limited interactivity that any paper publication offers a user, such as being able to write notes in the margins or to highlight or underline text.

The Enjoy Life Forever! book in the PDF file format—a computer file format that is conceptually rooted in the world of paper—adds the ability for a user to tap/click on links to load the web pages on which the videos mentioned in the book can be played. As we move on to more computer-native formats, we find that on the jw.org website and in the JW Library app, where of course links are available for playing the videos, a user can tap/click on text fields in the “Lesson completed on:” and “Goal” sections and type text into them that will be “remembered”. Also, a user can tap/click on the checkboxes in the “Goal” section, and those checkboxes will “remember” and show whether they are checked or unchecked.

As discussed in the JW Broadcasting—January 2021 program, when it comes to the more general meaning of the English word “interactive”, “acting upon or influencing each other”, the Enjoy Life Forever! book in every format is designed to engage and involve people more than past Bible study textbooks did. It indeed qualifies as “interactive”, or as we say in Mandarin, “hùdòng (hù·dòng {each other} · moving → [interactive] 互动 互動) shì (type 式)”.

(By the way, just as is possible on this blog, in the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material for the Enjoy Life Forever! book, users can interactively tap/click on Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expressions to show/hide, as desired, flashcards showing English meanings, Simplified character(s), Traditional character(s) (if they’re different), etc. for these expressions.)

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! 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 Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resource as time allows.

Categories
Theocratic

yùyán

yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · say[ing] → [prophecy | prophesy] 预言 預言) ← 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.

The Many Meanings of “Prophecy”

When we hear the word “prophecy”, we probably generally think of foretelling of the future. Indeed, in the past, we in the Mandarin field generally used this week’s MEotW, “yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · say[ing] → [prophecy | prophesy] 预言 預言)”, which literally means “in advance saying”, to translate “prophecy”. However, foretelling of the future is actually only one of several meanings that the English word “prophecy” is used to represent, as explained in the Insight book entry on “Prophecy”:

PROPHECY

An inspired message; a revelation of divine will and purpose or the proclamation thereof. Prophecy may be an inspired moral teaching, an expression of a divine command or judgment, or a declaration of something to come. Prediction, or foretelling, is not the basic thought conveyed by the root verbs in the original languages (Heb., na·vaʼʹ; Gr., pro·phe·teuʹo); yet it forms an outstanding feature of Bible prophecy.

Since there is such a mismatch between “yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · say[ing] → [prophecy | prophesy] 预言 預言)” and the possible meanings of “prophecy” that do not involve the future, “yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · say[ing] → [prophecy | prophesy] 预言 預言)” has often been the cause of misunderstandings. So, depending on the context, the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty) will sometimes use other expressions where previous versions used “yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · say[ing] → [prophecy | prophesy] 预言 預言)”.

Mandarin “Prophecy” Now and Then

For example, in Romans 12:6, where previously the Mandarin NWT Bible used “yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · sayings → [prophecies] 预言 預言)”, the current version uses “Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) de (’s 的) xìnxī (xìn·xī {letters → [messages]} · news → [messages] 信息)”:

Romans 12:6 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

Another example can be found at 1 Corinthians 12:10, which now uses “shòu (receiving 受) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor → [God]} → [God] 上帝) qǐshì (qǐ·shì {opening → [enlightening]} · showing → [revealing] 启示 啟示) fāyán (fā·yán {issuing forth} · speech → [speaking] 发言 發言)” instead of “shuō ({to speak} 说 說/説) yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · sayings → [prophecies] 预言 預言)”:

1 Corinthians 12:10 (WOL CHS+Pinyin Parallel Translations)

(And yes, that is indeed the “qǐshì (qǐ·shì {opening → [enlightening]} · showing → [revealing] 启示 啟示)” that’s in “Qǐshìlù (Qǐ·shì·lù {Opening → [Enlightening]} · Showing · Record → [Revelation] 启示录 啟示錄)”.)

Of course, the Bible does indeed often speak of foretelling of the future, so in scriptures like Ezekiel 38:14, the current Mandarin NWT Bible continues to use “yùyán (yù·yán {in advance} · say[ing] → [prophecy | prophesy] 预言 預言)”.

Categories
Theocratic

tǐyàn

tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

One of the publications that is now recommended to be used on Bible studies is the Yǒngyuǎn Xiǎngshòu Měihǎo de Shēngmìng—Shèngjīng Kèchéng Tǐyàn Bǎn ((Yǒng·yuǎn Eternally · {Far (in Time)} 永远 永遠) (Xiǎng·shòu Enjoy · Receive 享受) (Měi·hǎo Beautiful · Good 美好) (de ’s 的) (Shēngmìng Life 生命)—(Shèng·jīng Holy · Scriptures → [Bible] 圣经 聖經) (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) (Tǐ·yàn {Bodily → [Personally]} · Testing → [Learning Through Personal Experience] 体验 體驗) (Bǎn ({Printing Plate (or Block)} → [Edition] 版) → [Enjoy Life Forever!—Introductory Bible Lessons (lffi)]) (Enjoy Life Forever! (lffi)) brochure. Looking at the Mandarin title of this brochure, you may have wondered: What does “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” mean?

_Enjoy Life Forever!_ br. title page (WOL CHS+Pinyin)

You may surmise that “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” roughly corresponds with the “Introductory” in Enjoy Life Forever!​—Introductory Bible Lessons, and you would be right. The match isn’t exact, though, and a look into the literal meanings of the morphemes in “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” will help us to understand why, and to gain some insight into how the components of “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” and of similar Mandarin words work together.

Morphemic Breakdown

As the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus information for “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” shows us, its first morpheme “tǐ (body | {bodily [→ [personally]]} 体 體/体/躰)”, which literally means “body”, here means “in body” or “bodily”, or as we might say in English, “in person” or “personally”. The other morpheme “yàn (test; examine; check; verify 验 驗/騐)” means “test; examine; check; verify”. The word “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” that these morphemes form together effectively means “personally test”, or “learn from practical/personal experience”.

“Kèchéng (Kè·chéng Lessons · Procedure → [Course] 课程 課程) Tǐyàn (Tǐ·yàn {Bodily → [Personally]} · Testing → [Learning Through Personal Experience] 体验 體驗) Bǎn ({Printing Plate (or Block)} → [Edition] 版)” in the title of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! brochure does correspond to “Introductory…Lessons” in the title of the English Enjoy Life Forever! brochure, but a more exact English translation might be “Course Trial Edition” or something like that.

Representing the Self in Some Mandarin Words

The way “tǐ (body | {bodily [→ [personally]]} 体 體/体/躰)” is used in “tǐyàn (tǐ·yàn {bodily → [personally]} · test; examine; check; verify → [learn through practice/personal experience] 体验 體驗)” is an example of how in some Mandarin words, the physical body is used to represent the whole self. “Tǐhuì (Tǐ·huì {bodily → [personally]} · understand; know 体会 體會)” and “tǐtiē (tǐ·tiē {bodily → [personally]} · {stick to → [keep close to]} → [show consideration for; be thoughtful towards] 体贴 體貼)” are two fairly well-known Mandarin words that also use “tǐ (body | {bodily [→ [personally]]} 体 體/体/躰)” this way.

Another example of a Mandarin word in which the physical body is used to represent the whole self is a word that we as Jehovah’s people are quite familiar with: “xiànshēn (xiàn·shēn {offer → [dedicate]} · {body → [self]} | {offering of → [dedicating of]} · {body → [self]} → [dedication] 献身 獻身)”. This word literally means “offer body”, and effectively means “dedicate self”.

For convenience:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure is:

The direct link for the current generation Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resource for the Enjoy Life Forever! book is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! brochure is:

The short link for Chinese field language-learning links for the Enjoy Life Forever! 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 Enjoy Life Forever! brochure and the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book will be made available in the above-mentioned Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus web resources as time allows.