Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus Expressions

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3. There is no Step 3!

Of course, while your device is offline, your supporting web browser will not receive any new or updated material for this web resource if that new or updated material gets uploaded to the web server after your supporting web browser last saved this web resource’s files to its cache. However, when your device is back online, loading part of this web resource in your supporting web browser will automatically cause your supporting web browser and its cache to be updated with any new or updated material on the web server for this web resource. (You may need to reload twice, or to first switch to a new tab or restart your web browser.)

The English translations follow these principles:

• As far as is practical, the meaning of each individual Mandarin morpheme (smallest unit of language sound with meaning) is translated literally according to how it is used in the context in which it appears. (In 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.)
• Interpuncts (·) are used to separate sections of meaning.
  • E.g., in “láizì (lái·zì comes · from 来自 來自)”,
    • “lái” corresponds with “comes”, and
    • “zì” corresponds with “from”.
• If a set of English words corresponding to one or more Mandarin morphemes is surrounded by curly brackets (also called braces), i.e. { }, then that set of English words conveys the literal meaning of the Mandarin morpheme(s) it corresponds to. Curly brackets may also be used to indicate that whatever’s inside them should be treated together as a set.
• When a single English word (or a set of English words surrounded by curly brackets) corresponds to two or more Mandarin morphemes, that means that it conveys the literal meaning of each of those Mandarin morphemes.
  • E.g., in “bāngzhù (help 帮助 幫助)”, “help” is the literal meaning of “bāng”, and it is also the literal meaning of “zhù”.
• When literal translations may not be understandable enough on their own, effective meanings are shown, surrounded by square brackets, i.e. [ ]. (In this list of expressions that are not used in context, square brackets are also used to surround words that may appear in some contexts, but not in other contexts.)
  • E.g., with “yídìng (yí·dìng {(with) one} · {setting fixedly} → [definitely] 一定)”, it can be seen that the literal translations “{(with) one} · {setting fixedly}” lead to an effective meaning of “definitely”.
• An English word or a set of English words that is not part of the explicit meaning of its corresponding Mandarin morpheme(s), but rather is implied, is surrounded by parentheses, i.e. ( ). In the above example, the explicit meaning of “yí” is “one”, but in the context of “yídìng”, there is an implied “with” before “one”.
• When each Mandarin syllable in a set of Mandarin syllables was selected for its sound and not its meaning, such as when that set of Mandarin syllables represents a non-Mandarin name, the English word or set of English words that corresponds to that set of Mandarin syllables is not surrounded by square brackets. (In such cases, the sound of each of those Mandarin syllables practically is its literal meaning.)
  • E.g., each Mandarin syllable in “Yēhéhuá (Jehovah 耶和华 耶和華)” was selected for its sound, not its meaning. So, “Jehovah” is not surrounded by square brackets, but rather is presented directly as the literal meaning of “Yēhéhuá”.

It’s true that translating Mandarin morphemes literally can result in English translations that don’t follow familiar, traditional English usage patterns. However, the purpose of language-assistive material like this is not necessarily to move the hearts of English-speaking publishers through the use of their mother tongue—the ideal tools for that are the official English publications. Rather, the purpose of language-assistive material like this should be to help publishers to become familiar with Mandarin usage patterns, which of course can be different from English usage patterns. Becoming familiar with Mandarin usage patterns will help publishers to learn to understand and speak Mandarin better, so that they can ultimately better move the hearts of Mandarin-speaking householders through the use of their mother tongue. Those of you who are learning Mandarin to help in the Mandarin field are deeply appreciated, but ultimately, it’s not about you! 😄

Happily for language learners, compared to the design of traditional 3-line, etc. material, the design of Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, with its hideable “flashcards”, allows for much more room for additionally including effective meanings, surrounded by square brackets, i.e. [ ]. Thus, literal meanings that illuminate actual Mandarin usage patterns can much more often be accompanied by effective meanings that can be as long as necessary to clarify what the corresponding more-familiar English expressions are. Even long publication names can be handled this way, e.g.,

• Shèngjīng Xīn Shìjiè Yìběn ((Shèng·jīng (The) Holy · Scriptures 圣经 聖經) (Xīn New 新) (Shì·jiè World · Extent → [World] 世界) (Yì·běn Translated · {Root → [Edition]} 译本 譯本) → [New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures])

Showing both literal and effective meanings here does make for a long, complex “flashcard”, compared to the necessarily briefer text used in traditional 3-line, etc. material that is more space-constrained. However, with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, all that information can be there when you need it, and when you don’t need it anymore, you can easily put it out of sight and out of mind by just tapping or clicking on it.

Yes, with Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) Plus material, language learners can “have their cake and eat it too” with regard to both literal and effective meanings, without having to always wade through all the lines of 4-line material! 😱 And, as the literal and effective meanings work together to help diligent language learners get a better and better grip on actual Mandarin usage patterns, these language learners will as a result get better and better at actually understanding and speaking Mandarin, which will make everything they do in the Mandarin field easier and better—a little pain up front for a lot of potential gain, both for themselves and for the Mandarin-speaking interested ones they can help, for the entire time they serve in the Mandarin field.