Tag: Verbs

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Culture Language Learning Technology Theocratic

suàn buliǎo

suàn buliǎo ((suàn {to be counted as} [→ [to be considered/regarded as]] 算) (bu·liǎo not · {is finishing} → [is unable] 不了) → [is not able to be counted/considered/regarded as]) ← 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.]

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).

Not That “了”, the Other “了”

This week’s MEotW, “suàn buliǎo ((suàn {to be counted as} [→ [to be considered/regarded as]] 算) (bu·liǎo not · {is finishing} → [is unable] 不了) → [is not able to be counted/considered/regarded as])”, is used in verse 2 (WOL, Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus) of 1 Corinthians 13:

Screenshot of “_suàn buliǎo_” in 1 Co. 13:2 (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.)

The “suàn (calculate; compute; figure | count (v) [→ [consider/regard as]] 算)” in “suàn buliǎo ((suàn {to be counted as} [→ [to be considered/regarded as]] 算) (bu·liǎo not · {is finishing} → [is unable] 不了) → [is not able to be counted/considered/regarded as])” can literally mean “to be counted as”, and in this expression, it can effectively mean “to be considered/regarded as”. The “bu (not 不)” used here is the familiar one that means “not”.

The character “了” often represents “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)”, but in “bùliǎo/buliǎo (bù·liǎo/bu·liǎo not · {is finishing} [→ [is unable]] 不了)”, “了” has a different pronunciation, and a different, although probably related, meaning. Critics of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) like to point out that Mandarin has many homophones (different words that sound the same) (which in practice are handily handled by using sufficient context, as is routinely done when speaking Mandarin), but this is a case of Chinese character homographs (different words that are written the same) which are easier to tell apart in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音).

Anyway, while “le (-ed | {to completion} | [(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了)” is either an aspect marker meaning “to completion” or a modal particle used at the end of a phrase or sentence that indicates a change, “liǎo ({to be ending; finishing; concluding; settling} | {know clearly}; understand 了)” is a verb meaning “end; finish; conclude; settle”. (For more information about aspect markers and modal particles, see the MEotW post on “jiéle hūn ((jié·le {tied (a knot of)} · {to completion} 结了 結了) (hūn marrying → [marriage] 婚) → [[got] married])”.)

When brought together, the morphemes in “suàn buliǎo ((suàn {to be counted as} [→ [to be considered/regarded as]] 算) (bu·liǎo not · {is finishing} → [is unable] 不了) → [is not able to be counted/considered/regarded as])” literally mean “to be counted as not is finishing”, and effectively mean “is not able to be counted/considered/regarded as”.

Bookends

📖 📄 📘 Wǒ (I 我) jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算) néng ({am able} 能) zài (at 在) Shàngdì (Shàng·dì Above’s · {Emperor’s → [God’s]} → [God’s] 上帝) qǐshì (qǐ·shì {opening → [enlightening]} · showing → [inspiring] 启示 啟示) xià (under 下) fāyán (fā·yán {to issue forth} · speech → [to speak] 发言 發言), míngbai (míng·bai {am bright (about) → [am understanding]} · clearly 明白) yíqiè (yí·qiè {one (whole)} · {corresponding (set of)} → [all] 一切) shénshèng (shén·shèng godly · holy 神圣 神聖) de (’s 的) mìmì (mì·mì secret · {dense → [intimate] → [secret]} (things) → [secrets] 秘密 秘/祕密) hé ({(together) with} → [and] 和 和/龢) suǒyǒu (suǒ·yǒu {(all) which} · {(there) is having → [(there) is]} → [all] 所有) de (’s 的) zhīshi (knowledge 知识 知識), hái (also 还 還) yǒu ({am having} 有) shízú (shí·zú {ten (times)} · sufficient → [complete] 十足) de (’s 的) xìnxīn (xìn·xīn believing · heart → [faith] 信心) nénggòu (néng·gòu able · enough 能够 能夠) yí ({to move} 移/迻) shān (mountains 山), què (but 却 卻) méiyǒu (méi·yǒu not · {do have} 没有 沒有) ài (love 爱 愛), zhè (these 这 這) yě (even 也) suàn buliǎo ((suàn {to be counted as} → [to be considered as] 算) (bu·liǎo not · {are finishing} → [are unable] 不了) → [are not able to be considered as]) shénme (shén·me {what → [anything]} · [suf] 什么 什/甚麼).

In the current Mandarin New World Translation Bible’s rendition of 1 Corinthians 13:2, shown above in the Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus format, the “suàn (calculate; compute; figure | count (v) [→ [consider/regard as]] 算)” in “suàn buliǎo ((suàn {to be counted as} [→ [to be considered/regarded as]] 算) (bu·liǎo not · {is finishing} → [is unable] 不了) → [is not able to be counted/considered/regarded as])”, near the end of the verse, had also appeared in “jiùsuàn (jiù·suàn {even if} · {figuring → [considering]} 就算)” (a past MEotW), near the beginning of the verse. These two expressions thus act in Mandarin as bookends for this verse, expressing that while some may consider having “the gift of prophecy”, understanding of “all knowledge”, etc. to be really liǎo buqǐ ((liǎo understood 了) (bu·qǐ not · {to be rising → [up]} 不起) → [beyond understanding] → [extraordinary]) *, if one does not have love, even such things cannot be considered as being worth anything.—1 Corinthians 13:2.

 

* Hey, there’s “了” again, with yet another meaning! Good thing we can use Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) to clearly show which pronunciation should be used here! 😁 ^

Categories
Culture Current Events

rùqīn

rùqīn (rù·qīn enter; {go into} · invade; {intrude into} → [invade; intrude into] 入侵) ← Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”

On February 24, 2022, Russia sent significant military forces into Ukraine, resulting in the largest scale open warfare in Europe since World War II. Knowing certain Mandarin expressions will help us in the Mandarin field as we hear about and talk about Ukraine in the time ahead.

The article “Russia Invades Ukraine” has been featured on jw.org since not long after the crisis began, and the Mandarin translation of that article’s title is “Éluósī (Russia 俄罗斯 俄羅斯) Rùqīn (Rù·qīn Enters · Invades → [Invades] 入侵) Wūkèlán (Ukraine 乌克兰 烏克蘭) 🔗”. So, we can see that this week’s MEotW, “rùqīn (rù·qīn enter; {go into} · invade; {intrude into} → [invade; intrude into] 入侵)”, corresponds with the English word “invades”.

To Be Resultative…

Another way to say “invade” in Mandarin is “qīnrù (qīn·rù invade; {intrude into} · {enter | [go] into} → [invade; intrude into] 侵入)”, which has the same morphemes as “rùqīn (rù·qīn enter; {go into} · invade; {intrude into} → [invade; intrude into] 入侵)”, but in reversed order. There may be a difference between these two words, since the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary refers to “rùqīn (rù·qīn enter; {go into} · invade; {intrude into} → [invade; intrude into] 入侵)” as a verb, while it refers to “qīnrù (qīn·rù invade; {intrude into} · {enter | [go] into} → [invade; intrude into] 侵入)” as a resultative verb, in which “rù (enter; {go into}; join 入)” is taken to mean “into”, as opposed to the verb “enter”.

Or Not to Be Resultative?

On the other hand, the dictionaries I have checked re “rù (enter; {go into}; join 入)” itself, including the ABC Chinese-English Dictionary, emphasize its meaning as being the verb “enter”, and not so much as being the preposition “into” (although I think it can be used that way). If we indeed take both their morphemes to be verbs, then it would seem that the case of “rùqīn (rù·qīn enter; {go into} · invade; {intrude into} → [invade; intrude into] 入侵)”/“qīnrù (qīn·rù invade; {intrude into} · {enter | [go] into} → [invade; intrude into] 侵入)” is similar to the case of “fǎlǜ (law 法律)”/“lǜfǎ (law 律法)”.

Regarding “fǎlǜ (law 法律)”/“lǜfǎ (law 律法)”, the MEotW post for “fǎlǜ (law 法律)” had this to say:

But, Why?

If “lǜfǎ (law 律法)” and “fǎlǜ (law 法律)” both mean basically the same thing, why did the world’s Mandarin-speaking population bother to switch the order of “lǜ (law; statute; rule; regulation 律)” and “fǎ (law | method; way; mode | standard; model | {magic arts} | {follow; model after} 法)” in popular usage? Who knows? Appendix A2 of the Mandarin NWT Bible, probably wisely, does not get into the why of it, just mentioning that “fǎlǜ (law 法律)” is now the more common usage. Even if it turns out that there was a reason, it may not be what most would consider a good reason. Sometimes people are just weird, and, speaking as a Chinese person myself, that includes Chinese people—just look at some of the arbitrary ways in which Chinese characters have been designed, that have turned trying to figure out the pronunciations and meanings of unfamiliar Chinese characters into a guessing game.

Speaking of what’s commonplace or popular and why, I am reminded of this quote from William Goldman, who wrote the screenplay for The Princess Bride as well as the screenplays for several other successful, well-known movies:

Nobody knows anything…Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess

Speaking of The Princess Bride, that movie is a treasure trove of quotable quotes, including this one that serves as a precautionary admonition to us Mandarin language-learners:

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Categories
Science Technology Theocratic

huídào

huídào (huí·dào {circle back}; return; {go/come back} · {to arrive [at]}; to 回到 回/迴/逥/廻到) ← 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.

Mandarin “Presence”

The Greek word pa·rou·siʹa has often been translated less than ideally into English, as the Insight book thus explains:

Many translations vary their renderings of this word. While translating pa·rou·siʹa as “presence” in some texts, they more frequently render it as “coming.” This has been the basis for the expression “second coming” or “second advent” (adventus [“advent” or “coming”] being the Latin Vulgate translation of pa·rou·siʹa at Mt 24:3) with regard to Christ Jesus. While Jesus’ presence of necessity implies his arrival at the place where he is present, the translation of pa·rou·siʹa by “coming” places all the emphasis on the arrival and obscures the subsequent presence that follows the arrival. Though allowing for both “arrival” and “presence” as translations of pa·rou·siʹa, lexicographers generally acknowledge that the presence of the person is the principal idea conveyed by the word.

It is not surprising, then, that attention was paid to how pa·rou·siʹa should be translated into Mandarin for the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty).

The older Mandarin NWT Bible generally translated pa·rou·siʹa as “línzài (lín·zài arriving · {being present} 临在 臨在)”. However, many people find this word to be relatively unfamiliar. So, the current Mandarin version of the NWT Bible (nwtsty) usually translates Christ’s pa·rou·siʹa as “huídào (huí·dào {circling back} · {to arrive at} 回到 回/迴/逥/廻到) wǒmen (wǒ·men us · [pl] 我们 我們) zhèlǐ (zhè·lǐ this · inside → [here] 这里 這裡/裏)”. This should help to avoid unnecessarily obstructing beginning Bible readers from understanding the meanings of scriptures that use pa·rou·siʹa in the original Greek text. At Matthew 24:3, to further clarify the meaning, the current Mandarin version of the NWT Bible (nwtsty) uses the expression “yǐjing (yǐ·jing already · {have gone through} 已经 已經) huídào (huí·dào {circling back} · {to arrive at} 回到 回/迴/逥/廻到)”, to emphasize that it is referring to the situation in which Jesus has already gone through the process of arriving, and thus is present.

Matthew 24:3 (WOL CHS+Pinyin)

Verb-Complement Togetherness

Note that in the scripture in the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY linked to above, “huídào (huí·dào {circling back} · {to arrive at} 回到 回/迴/逥/廻到)” is rendered as “huí ({circling back} 回 回/迴/逥/廻) dào ({to arrive at} 到)”, with a space. The post on this blog on “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)” discussed such differing renderings:

Getting back to the MEotW “diǎnliàng (diǎn·liàng {dot → [light (v); ignite]} · {to be bright} [→ [illuminate; shine light on]] 点亮 點亮)”, the PRC national standard GB/T 16159-2012 recommends that, being made up of a single-syllable verb and its single-syllable complement, this expression should be written together. Recent official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) publications such as those on the Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY often do not follow this recommendation regarding single-syllable verbs and their single-syllable complements, whereas older official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) publications did follow this recommendation, and as do the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources.

On the other hand, the unofficial Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus resources join the official Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) publications, old and new, in explicitly indicating tone sandhi for “bù (not 不)” and “yī (one 一)” (e.g., “búzài (bú·zài not · again; further; continuing; anymore 不再)” instead of the standard “bùzài (bù·zài not · again; further; continuing; anymore 不再)”) to make things easier for readers, even though this practice is not included in the GB/T 16159-2012 standard’s recommendations.

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.