Brian Schack's discussion (Letters, June 16, page 8) points out the difficulties of using Chinese ideograms but fails to identify the overwhelming reason for retaining this superior system. It is true that phonetic-based writing systems are easier to learn and inherently more naturally representative of the spoken word. Such systems are also dynamic in their instant ability to form new words for society to use. Writers can coin new words and everyone can at least know how they sound.
Pharmaceutical companies do this all the time. New products are given catchy names which easily roll off the tongues of consumers. Conversely for the reader, when an unfamiliar written word is encountered, a dictionary is not always needed. One can "sound-out" the unfamiliar letters and audible recognition often follows.
But these advantages are no match for the superior ability of written Chinese (traditional or simplified) to convey information efficiently. Chinese ideograms are far more efficient than phonetic words. This can be seen empirically by simply placing the Chinese and English versions of the same text side by side. The Chinese publication is often half the physical volume of its English counterpart. So, Chinese books and periodicals can be printed on less paper. That's not reason enough to call it a better system. But this efficiency lays the foundation for a better system.
Since the information is more densely packed, the Chinese reader can absorb the presented text far faster than an English counterpart. In fact, what Chinese people take for granted as "reading," we in the Western world would call "speed reading." Speed reading is big business in the US. Learning how to read text rapidly is a very desirable skill in today's information-laden world. Examine any English-language speed reading system and you will find it is based on the idea of recognizing words as "whole entities," rather than phonetically trying to sound-out words, syllable by syllable. Taking a group of letters together as a single unit and not as a sequential list of phonetic symbols is exactly what written Chinese is all about. Each symbol is a word.
Yes, it's a difficult system to learn and consumes much of a young student's time. But the rewards later are easily measured in saved hours that, over a lifetime, pay back the Chinese student many times over.
Mark Kelsey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
US President Donald Trump’s second administration has gotten off to a fast start with a blizzard of initiatives focused on domestic commitments made during his campaign. His tariff-based approach to re-ordering global trade in a manner more favorable to the United States appears to be in its infancy, but the significant scale and scope are undeniable. That said, while China looms largest on the list of national security challenges, to date we have heard little from the administration, bar the 10 percent tariffs directed at China, on specific priorities vis-a-vis China. The Congressional hearings for President Trump’s cabinet have, so far,
US political scientist Francis Fukuyama, during an interview with the UK’s Times Radio, reacted to US President Donald Trump’s overturning of decades of US foreign policy by saying that “the chance for serious instability is very great.” That is something of an understatement. Fukuyama said that Trump’s apparent moves to expand US territory and that he “seems to be actively siding with” authoritarian states is concerning, not just for Europe, but also for Taiwan. He said that “if I were China I would see this as a golden opportunity” to annex Taiwan, and that every European country needs to think
For years, the use of insecure smart home appliances and other Internet-connected devices has resulted in personal data leaks. Many smart devices require users’ location, contact details or access to cameras and microphones to set up, which expose people’s personal information, but are unnecessary to use the product. As a result, data breaches and security incidents continue to emerge worldwide through smartphone apps, smart speakers, TVs, air fryers and robot vacuums. Last week, another major data breach was added to the list: Mars Hydro, a Chinese company that makes Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as LED grow lights and the
US President Donald Trump is an extremely stable genius. Within his first month of presidency, he proposed to annex Canada and take military action to control the Panama Canal, renamed the Gulf of Mexico, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy a dictator and blamed him for the Russian invasion. He has managed to offend many leaders on the planet Earth at warp speed. Demanding that Europe step up its own defense, the Trump administration has threatened to pull US troops from the continent. Accusing Taiwan of stealing the US’ semiconductor business, it intends to impose heavy tariffs on integrated circuit chips
RSS