|
 |
Traditional and Simplified Chinese | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Z.J.J Senior Member China Joined 5615 days ago 243 posts - 305 votes  Speaks: Mandarin* | Message 57 of 80 17 September 2009 at 6:19am | IP Logged | ||
Personally, I'm fed up with Communism too, but I can't deny that keeping the characters alive forever was really a good thing which China's government ever did for Chinese people, though they haven't bravely admitted that either latinization (more irrational) or simplification is, to a large extent, perhaps a historical failure to optimize and consolidate the whole writing system. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| FuroraCeltica Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6872 days ago 1187 posts - 1427 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 58 of 80 17 September 2009 at 8:45am | IP Logged | ||
|
My friend is married to a Chinese woman, from mainland China. She said that it was best to learn how to read and write simplified, but you only need to know how to read traditional.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| maaku Senior Member United States Joined 5581 days ago 359 posts - 562 votes Speaks: English* | Message 59 of 80 17 September 2009 at 8:51am | IP Logged | ||
|
(Many) people from Taiwan say the exact opposite: better to learn traditional and then it's easy to read simplified, etc.
The reality is nobody knows because either way whether you learned trad. or simplified you can only guess what it would have been like to do it the other way around. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Z.J.J Senior Member China Joined 5615 days ago 243 posts - 305 votes Speaks: Mandarin* | Message 60 of 80 17 September 2009 at 11:08am | IP Logged | ||
|
To cut a long story short, everybody has the right to have only an underpants on, even to have nothing on, when staying at home or lying on the beach, but it's unlikely you do that in a company, a department store, or a restaurant. In other words, simplified seems just like an underpants, while traditional is widely regarded as a business suit. Of course, besides some differences between their external appearances, I think the inherently rational pattern of traditional is of great importance for Chinese writing system, though it isn't "a hundred percent" perfect, either.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Z.J.J Senior Member China Joined 5615 days ago 243 posts - 305 votes Speaks: Mandarin* | Message 61 of 80 17 September 2009 at 11:53am | IP Logged | ||
|
讓（tra.）－－－让（sim.） = 讠 ＋ 上 (讠: cursive style of 言, an irrational method)
嚷（tra.）－－－嚷（why not 口 + 上） 壤（tra.）－－－壤（why not 土 + 上） 瓤（tra.）－－－瓤（why not 上 + 瓜） * please note that, this instance is just a drop in the ocean of unfinished simplification. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| munkala Newbie Joined 5558 days ago 10 posts - 9 votes | Message 62 of 80 17 September 2009 at 3:00pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Regarding simplification. I always wondered why some characters like 於 was changed to 于.
The original is simple enough. Why change it to something that does not resemble the original at all? And why are some high count stroke characters not simplified? It seems the governing body in charge of simplication were not using common sense. Edited by munkala on 17 September 2009 at 3:11pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Me has to learn Groupie Germany Joined 5564 days ago 64 posts - 75 votes Speaks: German* | Message 63 of 80 17 September 2009 at 6:12pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Z.J.J: Your postings are very interesting. However there is an advantage of simplified characters.
As I understand the matter simplified means fewer strokes. That means simplified characters enhances the readability on computer screens. Characters with many strokes tend to blur at normal size. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Hencke Tetraglot Moderator Spain Joined 6901 days ago 2340 posts - 2444 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Finnish, EnglishC2, Spanish Studies: Mandarin Personal Language Map | Message 64 of 80 17 September 2009 at 8:13pm | IP Logged | ||
|
If you learn traditional first it will be easier to pick up simplified later, that is quite correct. But you mustn't forget to factor in that it takes lot more effort to learn traditional in the first place.
You can choose between two routes: one is steeper in the beginning, with another, gentle slope ahead of you some distance up the hill, and the other is not as steep in the the beginning, but instead has a second, steeper slope waiting for you up ahead. I agree about the readability on computer screens. I have mentioned it a few times in these discussions, and I find it quite important from a practical point of view and a clear point in favour of simplified. I am surprised that it generally isn't brought up more often. Comparing to clothes though, I personally feel much more comfortable in my underwear than in a business suit, though I am often forced by circumstance to wear the latter :o). Edited by Hencke on 17 September 2009 at 8:15pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
