{"id":1064,"date":"2021-02-22T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T15:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/?p=1064"},"modified":"2023-05-07T15:52:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T22:52:05","slug":"falu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/troubadourworks.com\/tiandi\/meotw\/2021\/02\/22\/falu\/","title":{"rendered":"f\u01cel\u01dc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\t\t\tf\u01cel\u01dc<\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\n\n \u2190 Tap\/click to show\/hide the \u201cflashcard\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n\n

Appendix A2<\/a> of the English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures<\/i> (Study Edition), entitled \u201cFeatures of This Revision\u201d, 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)<\/a>, Appendix A2<\/a> of the current Mandarin<\/em> version of the New World Translation<\/i> Bible (nwt) correspondingly discusses words that have been translated differently in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT<\/i> Bible, compared to how they had been translated before.<\/p>\n

Since we base what we say in Jehovah\u2019s service on his Word the Bible, the vocabulary used in it\u2014and the way those vocabulary words are translated\u2014should 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.<\/p>\n

Legal Reversals<\/h3>\n

One relatively simple type of change that we should be aware of is that the ordering of the morphemes in some of the words used in previous versions of the Mandarin NWT<\/i> Bible has become reversed in more modern usage.<\/p>\n

Morphemes<\/a> are the smallest units of language sound with meaning. Morphemes sometimes are words on their own, but not always. For example, \u201ccat\u201d is both a morpheme and a word. However, while the \u201cs\u201d at the end of \u201ccats\u201d is a morpheme (meaning that we are now talking about more than one cat), it is not a word on its own.<\/p>\n

Regarding Mandarin morphemes, the introductions of P\u012bny\u012bn<\/i><\/span>\n(P\u012bn\u00b7y\u012bn\n{Piecing Together} \u00b7 Sounds \u2192<\/span> [Pinyin]<\/span>\n\u62fc\u97f3)<\/span> Plus resources point out<\/a> the following:<\/p>\n

\nIn Mandarin, morphemes usually correspond with syllables, but some syllables are sound-only (without meaning) and thus not morphemes, and some morphemes have more than one syllable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One example of a word that has had its morpheme order reversed in the current revision of the Mandarin NWT<\/i> Bible is \u201cl\u01dcf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u5f8b\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d. Now, \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d, this week\u2019s MEotW, is often used instead.\u2014Ch\u016b\u2019\u0101ij\u00edj\u00ec<\/i><\/span>\n(Ch\u016b\u2019\u00b7\u0101ij\u00ed\u00b7j\u00ec\n{Going Out from} \u00b7 Egypt \u00b7 Record \u2192<\/span> [Exodus]<\/span>\n\u51fa\u57c3\u53ca\u8bb0\n\u51fa\u57c3\u53ca\u8a18<\/span>)<\/span> 12:49<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As used in both \u201cl\u01dcf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u5f8b\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d, \u201cf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law | method; way; mode | standard; model | {magic arts} | {follow; model after}<\/span>\n\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cl\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law; statute; rule; regulation<\/span>\n\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d both mean \u201claw\u201d, and whichever one is put first, together they also mean \u201claw\u201d. (By the way, when it\u2019s capitalized, \u201cF\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(France | French<\/span>\n\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d can mean \u201cFrance\u201d or \u201cFrench\u201d. This particular Mandarin morpheme was undoubtedly chosen for this meaning because its pronunciation starts with the sound of an \u201cf\u201d, like \u201cFrance\u201d does.)<\/p>\n

But, Why?<\/h3>\n

If \u201cl\u01dcf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u5f8b\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d both mean basically the same thing, why did the world\u2019s Mandarin-speaking population bother to switch the order of \u201cl\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law; statute; rule; regulation<\/span>\n\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d and \u201cf\u01ce<\/i><\/span>\n(law | method; way; mode | standard; model | {magic arts} | {follow; model after}<\/span>\n\u6cd5)<\/span>\u201d in popular usage? Who knows? Appendix A2 of the Mandarin NWT<\/i> Bible, probably wisely, does not get into the why of it, just mentioning that \u201cf\u01cel\u01dc<\/i><\/span>\n(law<\/span>\n\u6cd5\u5f8b)<\/span>\u201d 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\u2014just 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.<\/p>\n

Speaking of what\u2019s commonplace or popular and why, I am reminded of this quote<\/a> from William Goldman, who wrote the screenplay for The Princess Bride<\/i> as well as the screenplays for several other successful, well-known movies:<\/p>\n

\nNobody knows anything\u2026Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what\u2019s going to work. Every time out it\u2019s a guess<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

\nYou keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n