Mainland China already won the romanization battle. Now the sinograph battle still is going. It is clear that China’s size has its weight when in comes to language policy. I’ve agreed with pinyin since the beginning of. It looks more attractive than Wade-Giles. But the simplification is a whole different ball game.
The sinographs in mainland are simply horrible, a mutilation. But Chinese learners around the world have to cope with them. It seems that there is no scape from it. You can say " so learn both". But It is a real pain in the ass to swalow. Chinese written overseas has been normally in traditional, but now this monstruosity is creeping into the press and television. One channel here, sinovision, types in simplified, and the commericals come mixed, some in traditional and others in "mutilations".
I've seen a few publication written in "mutilations", but how much longer will it take before traditiional dissapears from the face of the Earth completely?. What the future of traditional sinographs will be? extinction?
Here, " size does matter". China's size just prevents for the mostruosity to " dissapear". Unless the government in Beijing goes back to traditional, mutilations will stay. So it seems like traditional is the one loosing ground.
I personally prefers Traditional
not only because it’s much more beautiful and meaningful then simplefied
but also a lot of the traditional poetries or publications are in traditional too
so
it’s kinda not possible for traditional to disappear completely
and i’ve heard that some of the china ppl have started learning traditional again
because they realized that simplefied is just not going to work
cuz originally they start to simplified chinese is because they thought western countries are stronger beacuse they use the whole spelling thing… ex a.b.c…
but then they realized that it doesn’t work the same for chinese
so … i heard that they are already trying to restore traditional writings in china
so… i hope that’s true…
cuz I really couldn’t stand simplified chinese
and the false message simplified chinese are sending to ppl
one of my friend said to me if she is going to start studying chinese
she have to start from simplified
because she thinks that it’s simpler then traditional
when in fact it simplified out all the meanings and the forms of the traditional chinese… so it makes chinese even harder to understand
No way will mainland China go back to using traditional characters. Eventually even Taiwan will adopt simplified, but that may be decades away. Then the use of traditional characters will be confined to artistic calligraphy, as it is in mainland China.
I see absolutely no indication that Taiwan will adopt simplified characters unless China invades and forces it to. Even if it did, it might well leave Taiwan’s preferred script alone as it had done in Hong Kong.
Personally I think this is a stupid question. That’s like asking “Which will win - American English or British English?” They’re two seperate - though closely related - things, used in seperate places by seperate populations. Why does either have to “win”?
I think it’s more like “which will win, printing or cursive?”. People should just learn both. After all, if you’ve learned one, you can learn the other.
I am taiwanese. When I learn Trad Chinese, I hate it. The strokes of Trad Chinese character is too complicated. But when I know their meaning, I have to say it is beautiful. I really hope it will be kept in the future.
But I have to agree that Simp Chinese will be known wildly. The mainland is impossible to change it to Trad… I personly think.
Reading Simp Chinese is not hard work beacuse is alike Trad Chinese. But I am not sure it is the same for learn Simp Chinese first to read Trad Chinese.
I see absolutely no indication that Taiwan will adopt simplified characters unless China invades and forces it to. Even if it did, it might well leave Taiwan’s preferred script alone as it had done in Hong Kong.[/quote]
If you are in mainland and write things down in trad, can you get arrested for that?? :unamused: