Google has released a Pinyin-based character-input method for Windows systems. It offers a number of special features … which I don’t have time to detail right now, sorry. Read about them here: Google Gǔgē pīnyīn shūrùfǎ gōngnéng jièshào. And download the program from this page.
This photo of a chūnlián (春聯 / 春联) — couplet for Chinese New Year — has been making the e-mail rounds. (I don’t know the original source.) What’s interesting about this set is that they’re written in Taiwanese, not Mandarin.
I’ve written these left to right. But the orders in the original are
The writing above the doorway can be seen as separate from the other two or together with them. In the latter case it would be read first, from right to left. It reads 身體顧乎勇, which means “take care of health.”)
The one on the right reads 重情重義嗎著重粉味, which means “attach importance to relationships and brotherhood, but [people] also need to attach importance to powder’s smell” (i.e., to those who wear scented face power: women).
The second one, the one on the left, reads 愛鄉愛土嗎著愛查某, which means “love your home town, love your motherland; but also love women.”
The language of the first half of each of the two vertical strips is formal and traditional. But the style of both second halves is more akin to a sales pitch for a Viagra-like patent medicine.
Bichhin, which looks like a promising blog on Taiwanese (and written in Taiwanese, too), has helpfully rendered this in both the Tai-Luo and church romanization systems. It’s easier to see the rhymes that way.
further reading:
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has dipped into pop culture for some of its additions to the list of English words that elementary and junior high students are expected to learn. Among the new additions are “Batman” and “Spiderman.”
Yes, students will be tested on these — but not until 2011.
Three professors and three junior high English teachers compiled the new list of two hundred basic words; this will be added to the existing list of one thousand words.
Here are some of the other new additions:
sources:
Gāo Xuéguì (高学贵 / 高學貴), the director of the illiteracy eradication office of the basic education department of China’s Ministry of Education, has acknowledged that illiteracy in China increased between 2000 and 2005, in large part because people are losing the literacy they were said to have acquired. Although the figures for literacy are still inflated, the admission is a refreshing bit of directness from a government not known for its willingness to release bad news about itself.
Here’s the full article:
The number of illiterates in China grew by more than 30 million between 2000 and 2005 despite its efforts to eradicate illiteracy, a senior official has said.
Though over 9.75 million adults learnt to read and write during this period, the number of illiterates in the country rose to 116 million, said Gao Xuegui, director of the illiteracy eradication office of the basic education department of the Ministry of Education.
The number of illiterates in China accounted for 11.3 percent of the world’s total in 2000, right after India, and 15.01 percent in 2005. That means many people who had come out of the illiteracy trap forgot what they learnt.
“The situation is worrying,” Gao said. “Illiteracy is not only a matter of education, but also has a great social impact.”
China defines literacy as the ability to read and write at least 1,500 Chinese characters.
“Given the increase in the number of illiterates, the country may not be able to meet its target of a 50-percent reduction in its illiterate population by 2015 as projected by UNESCO,” said China National Institute for Educational Research scholar Guo Hongxia.
A worrying factor, as Gao said, is the changing demography of illiterates in the country.
For instance, the western regions now have only about 40 million illiterates. In contrast, the central and eastern parts, which have a high population density, account for two-thirds of them, with 9.63 million being in Shandong alone.
A major reason for the rebound in the illiterate population is the changing perception of knowledge in the market economy. Farmers today can earn money by working as laborers, too. So they tend to ignore the nine-year compulsory education despite having access to it, Gao said.
Another factor that ironically contributed to the increase in the illiteracy rate is the success of the illiteracy eradication campaign of the previous years because that led many local governments to “eradicate” the departments in charge of the program itself, Gao said.
But despite the setback, the illiteracy eradication office is determined to fulfill its mission, for which it’s seeking 100 million-yuan ($12.9 million) this year.
The existing budget of 8 million yuan ($1.03 million), it says, is not enough because it allots a paltry 0.07 yuan (or less than 1 cent) to each illiterate person.
The extra money, the office says, will be used to build a team of illiteracy eradication professionals on government payroll and to offer subsidy to volunteers.
Projects to eradicate illiteracy among 80 million women and the ethnic minorities are already under way.
But some local governments haven’t shown a long-term commitment to the program, with a few even trying to bend the rules, said Wu Qing, honorary councilor of Beijing Cultural Development Centre for Rural Women, an NGO that helps with the literacy campaign.
source: Ghost of illiteracy returns to haunt country, China Daily, April 2, 2007
Benjamin Zimmer of Language Log has had a couple of recent posts on the crisis = danger + opportunity myth. First, in Stop him before he tropes again, he takes Al Gore to task for repeating the myth (again).
Then Zimmer posted his findings that the myth “was in use among Christian missionaries in China as early as 1938 and creeping into American public discourse by 1940.” (See Crisis = danger + opportunity: The plot thickens.) Nice work!
Meanwhile, Gary Feng of Shadow has voiced a dissenting position that “the urban myth has some kernel of truth in it.”
Sino-Platonic Papers has just released one of its popular back issues as a free PDF. This one, no. 19 (June 1990), deals with the common question of What’s up with that “Peking” spelling, anyway?
As Bosat Man explains in “Backhill / Peking / Beijing”:
The three main contributing factors to the discrepancy between Peking and Beijing are:
- a plethora of romanizations
- a welter of local pronunciations, and
- phonological change over time.
He then goes into detail, especially about the third point. The whole work is just six pages, single spaced. Here it is: “Backhill / Peking / Beijing” (1 MB PDF).
O frabjous day! Finally, I have up on my site a Hanyu Pinyin version of a long section of Y.R. Chao’s delightful Mandarin translation of Through the Looking-Glass.
I’m certain that many will find this easier going than working through the original version in the Gwoyeu Romatzyh romanization system, though I hope that at least some site visitors will use this parallel text (English, Hanyu Pinyin, and Gwoyeu Romatzyh) to better learn that fascinating if somewhat baroque system.
Many thanks to Zhang Liqing for providing me with her carefully prepared Hanyu Pinyin version.
Here’s an excerpt containing most of the famous “glory” exchange between Alice and Humpty Dumpty:
Ālìsī shuō, “Wǒ bù dǒng nǐ zěnme jiào ‘róngyào.'”
Hūndì Dūndì lěngxiàozhe shuō, “Zìrán nǐ bù dǒng a — děi yào děng wǒ lái gàosong nǐ a. Wǒ de yìsi shì shuō, ‘Nǐ zhè jiù bèi rénjia bōdǎo le!'”
Ālìsī shuō, “Kěshi ‘róngyào’ yě bù néng dàng ‘bèi rénjia bōdǎo le’ jiǎng a.”
Hūndì Dūndì shuō, “Hng! Wǒ yào yòng yī ge zìyǎnr a, wǒ yào tā dàng shénme jiǎng jiù dàng shénme jiǎng — yě bù duō yě bù shǎo.”
Ālìsī shuō, “Zánmen yào wèn de shì, nǐ néng bu neng ná zìyǎnr yīhuǐr dàng zhège, yīhuǐr dàng nàge jiǎng.”
Hūndì Dūndì shuō, “Zánmen yào wèn de shì, dàodǐ shéi zuòzhǔ — jiùshi zhè diǎnr.”
See the more complete version in English, Hanyu Pinyin, and Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Humpty Dumpty in Mandarin Chinese.
Many of the stories I come across in my searches for news about Pinyin are related to input methods for Chinese characters. But I seldom find anything of interest in these. They tend to follow the same template: someone is touting a great new character-input method that is just so much better than Pinyin and everything else. It’s going to save Chinese characters and thus Chinese civilization and all that is good in the universe, etc. Blah, blah, blah. I just get bored.
But I recently came across one widely reprinted article that’s a bit more interesting and amusing/alarming/absurd. It has the additional advantage of being about the claims of a member of the PRC’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Here’s the key paragraph:
Chén Duó wěiyuán shuō: “Shǒujī Hànzì shūrù jìshù yīlài wàiguó gōngsī zhìshǎo zàochéng sān dà wèntí. Shǒuxiān, wàiguó gōngsī de Hànzì shūrùfǎ pòhuài le wǒmen shǐyòng Hànyǔ Hànzì de chuántǒng sīwéi xíguàn, dǎozhì Hànwén huà yánghuà, yìhuà, tuìhuà; qícì, wàiguó gōngsī bù zhíxíng wǒguó 27,484 gè zì de qiángzhìxìng biāozhǔn, biānmǎ zì liáng zhǐyǒu 6,763 gè zì, zàochéng Hànzì shǐyòng hùnluàn, Hànzì wénběn xìnxī shīzhēn, yǐngxiǎng guójiā xìnxī ānquán; hái yǒu, Zhōngguó měinián huā jǐ yì yuán gòumǎi wàiguó gōngsī de Hànzì shūrù ruǎnjiàn, yèjiè liǎnmiàn hézài? Hànzì wénhuà de zūnyán, quánwēi bèi zhìyú hédì?”
Committee member Chen Duo said: “The reliance of mobile phones on foreign corporations’ Chinese character input technology creates at least three major problems. First, foreign corporation’s Chinese character input methods are destroying the traditional patterns for thinking about using Chinese characters and are Westernizing Chinese culture, [causing it to be] alienated and degenerate. Next, foreign corporations are not complying with our country’s compulsory standard of 27,484 characters, using instead only 6,763 characters, which wreaks chaos in the use of Chinese characters, distorts Chinese character text messages, and affects national information security. Also, China spends hundreds of millions of yuan every year on Chinese character input software. Where is the self respect of the [domestic] industry? The dignity and prestige of the culture of Chinese characters — where have they been put?
About a week later Liu Naiqiang (刘廼强), another member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was touting the “fool” (shǎguā) character-input method, whatever that is, and warning against Pinyin.
Here is the whole article about Chen Duo:
“Wǒguó yǒu chāoguò 4.6 yì shǒujī yònghù, jū quánqiú dìyī, dàn yǒu jiǔchéng yònghù shūrù Hànzì shí, shǐyòng de shì wàiguó jìshù!” láizì xīnwén chūbǎnjiè de quánguó Zhèngxié wěiyuán Chén Duó zài quánguó Zhèngxié shí jiè wǔ cì huìyì gānggang kāishǐ shí, biàn tíjiāo le yī fèn zhǔnbèi hěn jiǔ de tí’àn, jiànyì jǐnkuài shíshī shùzì jiànpán Hànzì shūrù guójiā biāozhǔn, niǔzhuǎn wǒguó shǒujī Hànzì shūrù jìshù shòukòng yú wàiguó gōngsī de júmiàn.
Chén Duó wěiyuán shuō: “shǒujī Hànzì shūrù jìshù yīlài wàiguó gōngsī zhìshǎo zàochéng sān dà wèntí. Shǒuxiān, wàiguó gōngsī de Hànzì shūrùfǎ pòhuài le wǒmen shǐyòng Hànyǔ Hànzì de chuántǒng sīwéi xíguàn, dǎozhì Hànwén huà yánghuà, yìhuà, tuìhuà; qícì, wàiguó gōngsī bù zhíxíng wǒguó 27,484 gè zì de qiángzhìxìng biāozhǔn, biānmǎ zì liáng zhǐyǒu 6,763 gè zì, zàochéng Hànzì shǐyòng hùnluàn, Hànzì wénběn xìnxī shīzhēn, yǐngxiǎng guójiā xìnxī ‘ānquán; hái yǒu, Zhōngguó měinián huā jǐ yì yuán gòumǎi wàiguó gōngsī de Hànzì shūrù ruǎnjiàn, yèjiè liǎnmiàn hézài? Hànzì wénhuà de zūnyán, quánwēi bèi zhìyú hédì?”
Chén Duó jīngguò diàoyán huòxī, yóu Zhōngguórén zìzhǔ kāifā de guó bǐ shūrù jìshù zì liáng 27,484 gè, pīnyīn shūrù sùdù Bǐguó wài shūrùfǎ kuàijiāng jìn sì chéng, bǐhuà shūrù Bǐguó wài shūrùfǎ kuài yībàn, yīn xíng zǔhé shūrù Bǐguó wài pīnyīn shūrùfǎ kuài jìn qīchéng. Tā rènwéi, “guó bǐ cǎijí jìsuàn le shù bǎiyì zì de Zhōngguó bǎixìng xíguàn yòngyǔ yòng cí, yōngyǒu gèxìng huà de zhìnéng tiáopín wénzì shūrù fāng’àn, yínghé le Zhōngguó bǎixìng shǐyòng Hànyǔ Hànzì de chuántǒng sīwéi guànxìng, shǐ wénzì shūrù gèng liúchàng, fāngbiàn, shíyòng. “2006 nián 10 yuè, xìnxī chǎnyè bù zhàokāi le yǐ guó bǐ shūrùfǎ wéizhǔ dǎo de guójiā biāozhǔn 《xìnxī jìshù shùzì jiànpán Hànzì shūrù tōngyòng yāoqiú》 zhēngqiú yìjiàn huì, chàngyì quánguó gè dàshǒu jī shèjì shāng, zhìzàoshāng děng cǎiyòng wǒguó zìzhǔ chuàngxīn de Hànzì shūrùfǎ.
Chén Duó wěiyuán shuō, jǐnguǎn guó bǐ shūrù jìshù yǐ qiànrù le kāng jiā, jīn lì, yǔ lóng, TCL děng zhōngduān chǎnpǐn, dǎkāi le shìchǎng de quēkǒu, dàn yóuyú shūrù jìshù shìyǐ qiànrù jìshù de fāngshì jìnrù shìchǎng, zhǔnrù ménkǎn gāo, zhōuqī cháng; zhàn wǒguó 60% yǐshàng shǒujī shìchǎng de jǐ dàguó wài pǐnpái shāng, cúnzài cǎigòu wàiguó gōngsī ruǎnjiàn de guànxìng, yǒude guónèi shǒujī chǎngshāng yě mángmù chóngbài guówài chǎnpǐn; jiāshàng shuǐhuò shǒujī jí shǎo fùfèi děng yuányīn, guónèi de Hànzì shūrù jìshù yào yǔguó wài yǐjing xíngchéng lǒngduàn de gōngsī jìngzhēng, nándù fēicháng dà; jiāzhī zhè xiàng jìshù de ménkǎn jiàogāo, jíshǐ qiāndìng le hézuò xiéyì, cóngxīn shǒujī yánfā dào chéngshú de chǎnpǐn chūchǎng zhìshǎo xūyào 9 ge yuè de shíjiān, zhège guòchéng rúguǒ méiyǒu hěn hǎode jìshù bǎozhàng hédà liáng zījīn zhīchí, hěn nán wéichí xiaqu.
Wèicǐ, Chén Duó jiànyì guójiā yǒuguān bùmén cǎiqǔ qièshí cuòshī tuīdòng shùzì jiànpán Hànzì shūrù guójiā biāozhǔn de shíshī, jiāndū hé yǐndǎo yǒuguān shēngchǎn shāng zhíxíng guójiā biāozhǔn, tuījìn guóchǎn shǒujī Hànzì shūrù jìshù chǎnyèhuà, bìng cóng fúzhí zìzhǔ chuàngxīn de jiǎodù chūfā, duì qí jǐyǔ zhèngcèxìng zhīchí.
sources:
“只有顺着中文书写逻辑，以字形和笔顺为基础，不用学、不用记，人人都很快上手的‘傻瓜输入法’才能成为全球通用的中文输入法。国家应尽快将‘傻瓜输入法’开发出来。”全国政协委员刘廼强说。
现在社会上的中文输入法很多，像目前最流行的繁体“仓颉”、“简易”，简体的“五笔”等，但刘廼强认为它们是为要求速度的专业人员设计的，不适合现在人人都要自己输入，速度不是最重要要求的现实状况。
至于“拼音”输入法，刘廼强则认为，虽然繁简皆宜，更无须特别学和记，只要统一拼音标准，按道理是不错的全球通用的输入方法。“问题是中文不是语音语言，老用拼音输入法，很容易就会执笔忘字。实践证明，彻底拼音化决不是中文发展的正确方向，因而也不是中文输入应发展的方向，因为这样下去，中文便会萎缩灭亡。”