A Short Course in the Pin-Yin Romanization Method: Jack Jinghui Liu 敬辉刘 刘敬辉 Purdue Pu Du 普渡-

in the Chinese Characters and Pin-Yin Module One A Short Course in the Chinese Characters and Pin-Yin

Chinese Characters History The Chinese language has existed for probably 5,000 years or more. Original writing system was pictographic, similar to the Egyptian hieroglyphs, dating back probably 3,500 years ago or more. When the country was united under a single emperor, the writing system was simplified and made standard. The characters became more abstract but much simpler. Since 1958, the PRC mandated a new simplification of Chinese characters. Taiwan still uses the traditional/older system. Traditional Chinese: 學 漢 餐 Simplified Chinese : 学 汉 餐 (since 1958) Japanese: 学 漢 食

＊これは日本語です。私達は日本語を勉強していません。 Chinese and Japanese both use similar writing systems, and traditionally write from right to left, down. ＊这是中文。我们都学习中文。 ＊これは日本語です。私達は日本語を勉強していません。 Both languages use the same mark for periods and contain no spaces between characters. Nowadays, both languages are written most often in the Western style, left to right and across.

The Pin-Yin Romanization method has generally replaced the older Wades-Giles method for attempting to Romanize the Chinese language since 1958 in Mainland China. Pin-yin is attempt at teaching Chinese pronunciation to native/non-native speakers. Pin-Yin can be used to accurately pronounce most Chinese words with the correct tone markings.

Six Simple Finals a o e i u ü

A Chinese syllable is composed of an initial and final. wai/wei shai/zhai b.an/b.en sh.an/sh.en

Finals ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ia iao ie iou ian in iang ua uo uai   an en ang eng ia iao ie iou ian in iang ing ua uo uai uei uan un uang weng üe üan üen iong/üeng iong er

Twenty-one Initial Sounds These initial letters have the same pronunciation as in English: M-- (as in "man") N-- (as in "no") L-- (as in "letter") F-- (as in "from") S-- (as in "sheep") W-- (as in "woman") Y-- (as in "yes")

The following initial letters are the more difficult for English speakers: ZH-- (as in "jeweler") CH-- (as in ZH above, but with a strong puff of breath) SH-- (as in "shoe") R-- (as in "run") C-- (like the "ts" in "it's high", but with a strong puff of breath) J-- (as in "Jeff") Q-- (like the "ch" in "cheese") X-- (like the "sh" in "sheep")

Initial letters P-- (as in "pun") note: use a strong puff of breath The following initial letters have slight differences as noted below. If the comment calls for a strong puff of breath, old your open hand several inches from your mouth and make certain that you can actually "feel" the breath as you pronounce the letter. P-- (as in "pun") note: use a strong puff of breath K-- (as in "cola") note: use a strong puff of breath T-- (as in "tongue") note: use a strong puff of breath B-- (as in "bum") note: no puff of breath D-- (as in "dung") note: no puff of breath G-- (as in "good") note: no puff of breath H-- (as in "hot") note: slightly more aspirated than in English

Cheng Long – (Jackie Chen) (2+2) Yao Ming – Yaoming (2+2) Activities Please listen to me and mark the mark tones Zhong Wen – Chinese (1+2) Cheng Long – (Jackie Chen) (2+2) Yao Ming – Yaoming (2+2) Li Lian jie- Jet Li (3+2+2)

Tones Each syllable has a tone or movement of it's pitch which is important to the meaning of the word. In Chinese an incorrect intonation of a single word can completely change it's meaning.

        

Numbers and Sign Language Yi Er San Si Wu 一 二 三 四 五 1 2 3 4 5 Liu Qi Ba Jiu Shi 六 七 八 九 十 6 7 8 9 10

Wo Shi Mei guo ren – I am American 我 是 美 国 人 Useful Expression Ni Hao - （Hello ） 你 好 Xie Xie – Thank you 谢 谢 …………………………………… Dui bu qi – Sorry 对 不 起 Bu yao – I do not want it. 不 要 ………………….. Zai Jian – Byebye 再 见 Wo Shi Mei guo ren – I am American 我 是 美 国 人

Module Two

Lucy Xing Lu (2004). Political Slogans Wall Posters Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: Impact on Chinese Thought, Culture, and Communication, Lucy Xing Lu (2004). Political Slogans Wall Posters Songs and Model Opera To this day many Chinese people tend to categorize their world into black versus white and good versus evil. This type of either/or thinking has affected every aspect of Chinese life, from judgment made about international crisis to personal interactions and intrapsychic life. Lucy Xing Lu (2004). Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: Impact on Chinese Thought, Culture, and Communication, University of Souh Carolina Press.

Notion of Harmony China Everything is in harmony Change is viewed as disruptive Reason -- too many people US Efficiency and effectiveness End result logical reasoning on facts change to get desired results

Importance of Relationship China 4 important social groups: relatives, schoolmates, personal friends, and the indirect relationship from the 3 Importance of “guanxi” (connection) US constitutions guarantee the rights a short history to inherit traditions stress on individualism for personal achievement

Relationship (continued) Agricultural state (small community mentality) privacy is not highly valued individualism is not singled out “rule of man” over “rule of law” Relatively few norms melting pot Increased tolerance on diversity separate personal and business relationship friendship can be formed and dissolved quickly

Communication-continued Non-linear thinking pragmatic thinking rare physical contact no eye contact “Yes” means “I am listening” (not I accept) Linear thinking pragmatic and look for innovation normal touching eye contact is important (implying I have no harm) Hi- means friendly

Rule of Banquet China Much attention to eating and drinking Private rooms in restaurant round table with chopsticks Seats assigned Do not stretch arm for food US using club members

                                                    Dumpling Vs. Pizza                                                       Indirect Vs. Direct                                                    

Collectivistic Vs. Individualistic

Module Three

Indiana- China: E-Pal Project Dear American friend, I am glad to talk with you. My name is Sophia and i am from zhejiang province. i think it wonderful to make friends with a person who i will never see. In my school ,everyone is strict with himself even though, we don't have too much homework .most of our classmates are far better than me and it makes me a little worried. but i am always well confident. the worst thing to stay in school is that i can't sleep well. i sleep for only less than 7hours and the next day i feel sleepy. the cause is that some of my roommates are always studying until very late. I become a little angry but i am not able to do anything for myself. however, I like school life.how about you.i'm looking forward to your reply. Yuanjing

Letter from China Hello my dear friend, my name is HuangDecheng. With a lot of homework to do, I feel tired. What’s worse, my study doesn't go well. I have some difficulties in learning English. I find it hard to remember the words, the grammar and other useful language points. I feel worried, how can I improve my English? can you give me some advice? Thank you for your help! I am looking forward to receiving your letter. yours, HuangDecheng

Closing thoughts: