Lessons from Language: "Marriage"

[A Mafan]

The Chinese word for marriage is »éÒö

 

The right part of each character is the pronunciation basis. The left hand is the topic classification. An expert could probably explain that better, and some characters don't follow that formulation, but that's the basic idea for these characters and this word.

 

Please note that there is no character for "man" anywhere in there.

 

This means that to the Chinese, marriage is all about the woman.

 

Discuss the implications.

[david_dawei]

I would say to look closer to the second character phonetic which is "yin"; the right hand character IS a man.. or better, the husband's family (connection through marriage) as tradition has always dictated.

[Randy W]

Also, one of the definitions for the first character is "to take a wife", according to CEDICT. http://www.mandarintools.com/

 

That's a pretty far-reaching conclusion to come to, considering Chinese culture.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Highlander]

The Chinese word for marriage is »éÒö

 

The right part of each character is the pronunciation basis. The left hand is the topic classification. An expert could probably explain that better, and some characters don't follow that formulation, but that's the basic idea for these characters and this word.

 

Please note that there is no character for "man" anywhere in there.

 

This means that to the Chinese, marriage is all about the woman.

 

This means, you do not read, or understand Chinese language, or marriage.

[A Mafan]

I would say to look closer to the second character phonetic which is "yin"; the right hand character IS a man.. or better, the husband's family (connection through marriage) as tradition has always dictated.

In character construction, the right hand side sets the pronunciation, the left hand radical sets the topic.

 

In any case, the inside of the right hand character is "big". If you want to push forward with calling it a man, then I have to point out that the character then clearly indicates that marriage is women putting a (big) man into a small box.

 

[tonado]

http://www.orientaloutpost.com/shufa.php?q=marriage

 

More Chinese language for marriage.

[chengdu4me]

I would say to look closer to the second character phonetic which is "yin"; the right hand character IS a man.. or better, the husband's family (connection through marriage) as tradition has always dictated.

In character construction, the right hand side sets the pronunciation, the left hand radical sets the topic.

 

In any case, the inside of the right hand character is "big". If you want to push forward with calling it a man, then I have to point out that the character then clearly indicates that [/u]marriage is women putting a (big) man into a small box.

 

 

What more is there to discuss?...I think this one statement says it all!...and OMG the double-entendre!!!!

[david_dawei]

the Chinese Etymological website I use says 'yin' is a man laying on a man... if you've seen the oracle bone character, it's more revealing... but I'll let you argue with them

[A Mafan]

the Chinese Etymological website I use says 'yin' is a man laying on a man... if you've seen the oracle bone character, it's more revealing... but I'll let you argue with them

There's nothing to argue. For the vast majority of characters (including these two), the right side of a character is about the pronunciation group, and has nothing to do with meaning.

 

But the original post was tongue-in-cheek.

[david_dawei]

the Chinese Etymological website I use says 'yin' is a man laying on a man... if you've seen the oracle bone character, it's more revealing... but I'll let you argue with them

There's nothing to argue. For the vast majority of characters (including these two), the right side of a character is about the pronunciation group, and has nothing to do with meaning.

 

But the original post was tongue-in-cheek.

Is that a classical or modern argument?

 

In classical chinese, fewer characters meant more meaning.... I'm sure you know this. I sense you want a modern interpretation and I tend to always look at the classical usage. So we may differ in interpretation. i want to know a meaning for the last few thousand years, not the last few hundred.

[A Mafan]

the Chinese Etymological website I use says 'yin' is a man laying on a man... if you've seen the oracle bone character, it's more revealing... but I'll let you argue with them

There's nothing to argue. For the vast majority of characters (including these two), the right side of a character is about the pronunciation group, and has nothing to do with meaning.

 

But the original post was tongue-in-cheek.

Is that a classical or modern argument?

 

In classical chinese, fewer characters meant more meaning.... I'm sure you know this. I sense you want a modern interpretation and I tend to always look at the classical usage. So we may differ in interpretation. i want to know a meaning for the last few thousand years, not the last few hundred.

»éÒö didn't exist until, well, »éÒö existed.

Its formulation is what is valid here. Since Òö is constructed so that the left side provides topic cues, and the right side provides pronunciation cues, the meaning of the right side of Òö is immaterial. It isn't being used for pronunciation.

 

Like I said, the original post was tongue-in-cheek. If you want to argue that I'm full of crap, the best way is to point out that the "woman" radical does not necessarily mean a woman. It is often used to indicate family, home, hearth issues.

[tonado]

The Chinese simplified form screwed up the meaning of the many Chinese characters. Tradition form is better.

[weiaijiayou]

This means, you do not read, or understand Chinese language, or marriage.

yeah, give Highlander 15 years starting now and he'll understand Chinese language just as poorly as you do

[weiaijiayou]

Also, one of the definitions for the first character is "to take a wife"

I think you're getting at something along the lines of what I was originally thinking, which is that if the people responsible for the recurrences of the nv component were men, then the presence of the man is implicit and the characters for "marriage" need only be associated with women. The whole thing is tongue-in-cheek, though -- interpreting the content of characters is often like an art or an exercise in imagination...

[Highlander]

This means, you do not read, or understand Chinese language, or marriage.

yeah, give Highlander 15 years starting now and he'll understand Chinese language just as poorly as you do

 

 

It took my 15 years to learn average english to stop talking hillbilly.