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Culture Language Learning Names Technology Theocratic

Fēixíng Móshì

Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) ← 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.]

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. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

Airplane Mode—the Video

This week’s MEotW, “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])”, occurs in subtitle 51 of the transcript for the video for lesson 11, point 4 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

For me personally, then, it’s really helpful when I put my phone in airplane mode so that I can really focus on what I’m reading and nothing can distract me.

Mandarin:

50
00:02:02,401 → 00:02:04,319
📖 📄 📘 suǒyǐ (suǒ·yǐ {that which} · {is the reason} → [so] 所以) (I 我) yándú (yán·dú {grind → [study]} · read 研读 研讀) de (’s 的) shíhou ({(particular) times} 时候 時候)

51
00:02:04,319 → 00:02:06,947
📖 📄 📘 huì (will) xiān (first 先) (hold 把) shǒujī (shǒu·jī hand · machine → [mobile/cellular/portable phone] 手机 手機) tiáodào (tiáo·dào {to be adjusted} · {to arrive at → [to]} 调到 調到) Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]).

52
00:02:06,947 → 00:02:08,949
📖 📄 📘 Zhèyàng (Zhè·yàng this · {form → [way]} 这样 這樣) jiù ({(I) then} 就) kěyǐ (kě·yǐ can · [suf] 可以) bǎochí (bǎo·chí protect · hold → [keep] 保持) zhuānzhù ({being focused} 专注 專注),

53
00:02:08,949 → 00:02:11,035
📖 📄 📘 (not 不) shòu ({being subjected to} 受) dǎrǎo (dǎ·rǎo {striking of → [causing of]} · disturbing 打扰 打擾) de (-ly 地) yándú (yán·dú {grind → [study]} · read 研读 研讀) Shèngjīng (Shèng·jīng (the) Holy · Scriptures → [the Bible] 圣经 聖經) le ([(at the end of a phrase/sentence) indicates a change] 了).

As Apples Support’s web page explains, “You can use Airplane Mode to turn off the wireless features on your device while you’re flying in an airplane.”

The Airplane Mode button in Control Center (iPhone, iOS 17.4.1)

The Airplane Mode button in Control Center (iPhone, iOS 17.4.1)

“Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) is indeed the official Mandarin translation of “Airplane Mode” that Apple uses on its China website (USA page, China page). And yes, Android also has an “airplane mode/Airplane mode”. (Its official documentation uses both capitalization styles.) Additionally, “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) is also the official Mandarin translation of “airplane mode/Airplane mode” in the Simplified Chinese version of Google’s official documentation.

“Airplane Mode” Components

In “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)])”, “fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]}) means “flying”. “Fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]}) also appears in “fēijī (fēi·jī flying · machine → [aircraft; airplane] 飞机 飛機)”, which means “airplane”, but which, interestingly, is not used in the Mandarin expression corresponding to “Airplane Mode”. Instead, the expression that is used comes from combining “fēi (fly | hover; flutter | {flying → [swiftly]}) with “xíng (go; walk; travel [→ [do; perform; carry out; engage in; exercise | be current; prevail; circulate | behaviour; conduct; deeds | [is] alright; [is] acceptable | [is] capable; [is] competent | [is] temporary; [is] makeshift | soon]] 行)”, which in this context means “travelling”. The result is “fēixíng (fēi·xíng flying · going; walking; travelling → [flying | flight] 飞行 飛行)”, which effectively means “flying” or “flight”. So, the Mandarin expression for “Airplane Mode” on a more literal level actually means “Flying Mode”, or “Flight Mode”.

That brings us to “móshì (mó·shì model; pattern; standard · type; style; pattern; form; mode → [model; pattern; schema; mode] 模式)”, which in “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) is used to effectively mean “mode”. The first morpheme in this expression, “mó (pattern; standard; model; example | imitate 模)”, can mean “model”. (In fact, “nánmó (nán·mó male · model 男模) means “male model”.) The other morpheme, “shì (type; style; pattern; form; formula; mode 式)”, can mean “style” or “mode”.

Airplane Mode Culture

A number of bands have been named after Airplane Mode, including this one that’s steeped in Apple culture in other ways as well, such as most of its members having been involved in Apple ecosystem app development, and this one from Australia that uses the Australian spelling “Aeroplane Mode”. (Interestingly, Apple Support’s Australia page for Airplane Mode uses the spelling “Aeroplane Mode”, while its UK page and Canada page use the American spelling “Airplane Mode”.)

Yes, Airplane Mode, along with mobile devices in general, are now so much a part of modern everyday life and culture that the organization mentioned them in a video about Bible reading. (This occurrence of “Fēixíng Móshì ((Fēi·xíng Flying · Travelling → [Flying] 飞行 飛行) (Mó·shì Model · Mode → [Mode] 模式) [Airplane Mode (on mobile devices)]) in the Enjoy Life Forever! book material is not the first one in the organization’s published material either—the RTE entry for this expression refers to an occurrence of it in “tv.jw.org 2018-04 46:33-35”.) So, it would be good for us Mandarin field language learners to know how to talk in Mandarin about Airplane Mode and other things related to mobile devices too, even those of us who can still remember when the (emotionally vehement!) view of many was that only Bibles printed on paper were real Bibles!


For convenience:

The direct link for the 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
Culture Language Learning Technology Theocratic

xīndé

xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {got/obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得) ← 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.]

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. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

This week’s MEotW, “xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {got/obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得)”, occurs in subtitle 44 of the transcript for the video for lesson 11, point 4 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

You can better relate to the brothers’ and sisters’ comments

because you’ve read the material yourself, and I can comment too.

Mandarin:

43
00:01:41,503 → 00:01:44,799
📖 📄 📘 Tíqián (Tí·qián {carried (hanging down from the hand) → [raised] → [shifted to an earlier time]} · ahead → [beforehand] 提前) yùxí (yù·xí {in advance} · {having reviewed} → [having prepared] 预习 預習), jiù ({(I) then} 就) néng (can 能) cóng (from) dàjiā (dà·jiā big · family → [everyone] 大家) fēnxiǎng (fēn·xiǎng {divides → [distributes]} · {enjoying of} → [shares] 分享) de ( 的) yàodiǎn (yào·diǎn important · points 要点 要點) huòyì (huò·yì {capture → [obtain]} · benefits 获益 獲益),

44
00:01:44,799 → 00:01:47,343
📖 📄 📘 (I 我) (also 也) néng (can 能) fābiǎo (fā·biǎo {issue → [utter]} · express 发表 發表) zìjǐ (self 自己) de (’s 的) xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {has obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得) tǐhuì (tǐ·huì {bodily → [personally]} · {has come to understand(’s things)} 体会 體會).

Morphemic Breakdown and Interaction

The morphemes in “xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {got/obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得) are probably quite familiar to even beginning students of Mandarin—“xīn (heart 心) means “heart”, and “dé (get; obtain 得) literally means “get” or “obtain”. When we put these two simple and well known expressions together, though, they mean “heart got/obtained(’s things)”, and we end up with an effective meaning that’s greater than the sum of its parts: “(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.”

(By the way, note that the sister quoted in the video said that advance preparation helps her to be able to effectively share her xīndé (xīn·dé heart · {has obtained(’s things)} → [(things) learned from work/study/experience/etc.] 心得). As Mandarin field language learners, we may especially benefit from advance preparation so that we can more effectively use Mandarin to share with Mandarin-speaking people the things our hearts have learned. Yes, as boring and unglamorous as it may seem, our Mandarin abilities can be significantly enhanced by good old preparation and practice!)

Matters of the Heart

Going back to “xīn (heart 心)”, which means “heart”, it’s good to remember how important the heart is to our Mandarin field ministry. While the mind has much to do when one is learning Mandarin for the Mandarin field, and while some like to focus on how much knowledge of Chinese characters their minds have soaked up, the MEotW post on “xìnxīn (xìn·xīn believing · heart → [faith; confidence] 信心) points out the following about speaking to Mandarin-speaking people about spiritual things:

The Mandarin culture and language correctly recognize that the heart is deeply involved in spirituality. In fact, as mentioned in Appendix A2 of the current Mandarin version of the New World Translation Bible (nwtsty), one of the expressions that the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible uses to translate the English word “spiritual” is “xīnlíng (xīn·líng heart · spirit [→ [spiritual]] 心灵 心靈)”, which is a past MEotW. This expression literally means “heart spirit”.

So, let us not be quick, in our pride, to dismiss talk of the heart as sentimental nonsense. As expressed by the Mandarin expression “àixīn (ài·xīn loving · heart → [love] 爱心 愛心) (a past MEotW), we love with our hearts, and as God’s Word tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, if we don’t have love, then any knowledge, skills, abilities, etc. that we have, and that we may be proud of, are meaningless.

Serving in the Mandarin field—or any language field, really—is not just a matter of sharing knowledge and applying language or other mental skills. As this week’s MEotW reminds us, it’s also about sharing our hearts and the things our hearts have learned. And as we age, even if our physical and mental abilities may not be what they used to be, we naturally come to have more and more experience and heart lessons to share. Let us Mandarin field language learners apply ourselves out of love, not to glorify ourselves or anything like that, but so that we can share with Mandarin-speaking people the valuable things that Jehovah has helped our hearts to learn, in a way that they can tell is from the heart.


For convenience:

The direct link for the 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

shēn‐lín‐qí‐jìng

shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境) ← 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.]

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. An outstanding feature of this book is its extensive use of the post-paper technology of video, which enables information to be presented much more vividly than could be done with paper. Also, at this time, one of the unique features of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material is Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcripts. These can help us Mandarin field language learners to analyze and understand the Mandarin speech used in the many videos referenced in the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book. This in turn can help us make more effective use of these videos while participating in Mandarin Bible discussions using this book.

This week’s MEotW, “shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境)”, occurs in subtitle 35 of the transcript for the video for lesson 11, point 4 of the Mandarin Enjoy Life Forever! book:

English:

My favourite Bible book is Esther.

And because I think she was a very special person,

it was especially then that I could imagine

what her situation was like and what kind of a person she was

and I could see myself in the account.

Mandarin:

32
00:01:15,309 → 00:01:18,187
📖 📄 📘 (I 我) zuì (most最/㝡) xǐhuan (xǐ·huan like · enjoy 喜欢 喜歡) de ({’s (Bible book)} 的) shì (is 是) Yǐsītiējì (Yǐsītiē·jì Esther · Record → [Esther] 以斯帖记 以斯帖記).

33
00:01:18,187 → 00:01:21,357
📖 📄 📘 Yīnwei (Yīn·wei because · for 因为 因為) (I 我) juéde (jué·de {to wake to → [to feel]} · get → [get to feel] 觉得 覺得) Yǐsītiē (Esther 以斯帖) hěn ({very much} 很) yǔ‐zhòng‐bùtóng ((yǔ with與/与)‐(zhòng crowd眾/衆)‐(bùtóng not · {was the same} → [was different] 不同) [stood out from the crowd]),

34
00:01:21,357 → 00:01:23,901
📖 📄 📘 suǒyǐ (suǒ·yǐ {that which} · {is the reason} → [so] 所以) zài (at 在) ({(I) read}) zhèige (zhèi·ge this · [mw] 这个 這個) jìzǎi (jì·zǎi recorded · writing → [account] 记载 記載) de (’s 的) shíhou ({(particular) times} 时候 時候),

35
00:01:23,901 → 00:01:26,696
📖 📄 📘 (I 我) gèng (more 更) róngyì (róng·yì {containing → [allowing]} · {being easy} → [easily] 容易) shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (her 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place] → [situation]} 境) de ({in that way} 地) xiǎngxiàng (xiǎng·xiàng {think of} · {(instances of) being like → [images]} → [imagine] 想象 想象/像)

36
00:01:26,696 → 00:01:28,782
📖 📄 📘 dāngshí (dāng·shí {at that} · {(particular) time} 当时 當時) (she 她) suǒ ({that which (she)} 所) chǔ ({was dwelling in} → [was situated in]) de (’s 的) huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place] → [situation]} → [situation] 环境 環境),

37
00:01:28,782 → 00:01:30,867
📖 📄 📘 háiyǒu (hái·yǒu also · {(there) is having → [(there) is]} 还有 還有) (she 她) shì (was 是) ge ([mw]個/个) zěnyàng (zěn·yàng what · kind 怎样 怎樣) de (’s 的) rén (person 人).

Morphemic Breakdown

In “shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境)”, “shēn (body [→ [self]] 身)”, which literally means “body”, is used to effectively mean “self”. Another Mandarin expression in which “shēn (body [→ [self]] 身) is used this way is “xiànshēn (xiàn·shēn {offer → [dedicate]} · {body → [self]} | {offering of → [dedicating of]} · {body → [self]} → [dedication] 献身 獻身)”, which literally means “offer body”, but which effectively means “dedicate self”, as one does before getting baptized.

The “lín (face; overlook; {be near to} | arrive; {be present} | approach; {draw near} | {on the point of}; {just before}; {[be] about to}) in this week’s MEotW can have several possible meanings, as can be seen from its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus “flashcard”. In the context of “shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境)”, “lín (face; overlook; {be near to} | arrive; {be present} | approach; {draw near} | {on the point of}; {just before}; {[be] about to}) evidently means “being present (in)”.

Long-time Mandarin field language learners may recall that this “lín (face; overlook; {be near to} | arrive; {be present} | approach; {draw near} | {on the point of}; {just before}; {[be] about to}) also appears in the expression “línzài (lín·zài {having arrived} · {being present} 临在 臨在)”, which was used in older versions of the Mandarin New World Translation Bible to translate the Greek word pa·rou·siʹa in scriptures such as Matthew 24:3. However, as explained in Appendix A2 of the current version of the Mandarin NWT Bible, “línzài (lín·zài {having arrived} · {being present} 临在 臨在) is no longer used to translate pa·rou·siʹa because many readers found this Mandarin expression to be unfamiliar—indeed, out of the several dictionaries loaded in my Pleco app, this expression only appears in the Referenced Theo. Expressions (RTE) one.

Moving on to “qí (he/she/it/they/his/her/its/their/that/such… 其)”, this morpheme seems to function in “shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境) as a possessive determiner, determiners being a part of speech that many modern grammar theorists see as distinct from adjectives, pronouns, etc. Regarding that, Wikipedia provides this summary:

Most determiners have been traditionally classed either as adjectives or pronouns, and this still occurs in traditional grammars: for example, demonstrative and possessive determiners are sometimes described as demonstrative adjectives and possessive adjectives or as (adjectival) demonstrative pronouns and (adjectival) possessive pronouns respectively. …However, modern theorists of grammar tend to distinguish determiners as a separate word class from adjectives, which are simple modifiers of nouns, expressing attributes of the thing referred to.[source][source] This distinction applies particularly in languages, such as English, that use definite and indefinite articles frequently as a necessary component of noun phrases—the determiners may then be taken to be a class of words that includes the articles as well as other words that function in the place of articles.

Finally, the “jìng ({[(set of)] boundaries; borders} [→ [[(bounded)] place; area; territory] [→ [condition; situation; circumstances]]] 境) in “shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境) literally means “boundaries; borders”, which here effectively means “(set of) boundaries”, which in turn effectively means “(bounded) place; area”, which in turn effectively means “condition; situation; circumstances”. Another expression in which this “jìng ({[(set of)] boundaries; borders} [→ [[(bounded)] place; area; territory] [→ [condition; situation; circumstances]]] 境) appears is “huánjìng (huán·jìng surrounding; encircling · {(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} → [environment; surroundings; circumstances; situation; context | environmental] 环境 環境)”, which appears in subtitle 36 of the above Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus video transcript excerpt.

Non-“Standard” Hyphenation?

Four-syllable/character expressions like “shēn (body → [self] 身)lín ({being present (in)}) (his/her/its/their… 其)jìng ({(set of) boundaries → [(bounded) place; area] → [condition; situation; circumstances]} 境) have often been written in Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) with a hyphen between the middle syllables, or as one whole word. These formats are really just general stylistic conventions, since even the PRC government’s official standard for Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) orthography is at most a set of recommendations.

Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material renders such multi-morpheme expressions with hyphens at the actual word boundaries, which should make it easy for readers to parse how these expressions are constructed and thus make sense of them.

Just Like Being There

Interestingly, while it’s obviously relatively easy to get immersed in a good video, with its sights and sounds, the sister quoted in the above-mentioned video from the Enjoy Life Forever! book said that the Bible’s true-life written account about Esther was so compelling to her that she could see herself being there. This week’s MEotW can help us to talk with our Mandarin-speaking Bible students about that kind of Bible-reading experience.


For convenience:

The direct link for the 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.