From ideogram to sinogram

La transition de l'idéogramme au sinogramme marque une évolution importante dans l'écriture chinoise. Un ideogram est un signe qui représente une idée ou un concept. Par exemple, le signe ⽥ représente un champ. Les idéogrammes sont les ancêtres des sinogrammes, caractères utilisés pour écrire le chinois.

Le sinogram a term covering pictograms, ideograms and ideo-phonograms, is a sign of a form of writing used in particular to write Chinese. For example, the sinogram 明 (míng) meaning "clear" or "bright" is made up of the simple pictogram of the sun. or "luminous" is made up of the simple pictogram of the sun (日) and that of the moon (月).

The evolution from ideograms to sinograms has led to the development of a more complex and richer script, capable of conveying more nuanced and precise ideas.

The role of special characters

Special characters play a crucial role in Chinese writing. These characters, often referred to as 'non-standard Chinese characters', are used to represent sounds, concepts or symbols that cannot be expressed by standard characters. They can be variations of existing characters, combinations of characters, or entirely new characters.

Some special characters are stylistic variations on standard characters, used in Chinese calligraphy or to add an artistic or unique touch to a text. Others are used to represent specific sounds or words in regional dialects or minority languages that cannot be expressed using standard characters.

It is essential to note that the use of these special characters can make a text more difficult to read for those who are not familiar with them. However, they add a depth and richness to Chinese to Chinese writing that cannot be achieved with standard characters alone.

The importance of symbols in Chinese writing

Les symbols dans l'écriture chinoise occupent une place prépondérante. Chaque symbole est bien plus qu'une représentation graphique, il véhicule une idée ou un concept. Leurs origines sont souvent ancrées dans la nature. Par exemple, le symbole "木" évoque un arbre ou du bois.

Symbols are the foundations on which Chinese writing is built, enabling words to be composed. Mastering them is therefore essential to understanding how to write and read Chinese.

L'écriture chinoise est aussi marquée par une symbolic wealth qui va au-delà de la simple communication d'informations. Les symboles ont une valeur esthétique, culturelle et historique qui confère à l'écriture chinoise une profondeur unique.

Les symboles sont également présents dans la Chinese calligraphy in which the drawing of each character is an art in itself. Chinese calligraphy expresses the writer's feeling through the line, the structure, the brushstrokes, the use of ink and the movements of its forms.

Enfin, chaque character chinois est composé de plusieurs traits . These strokes are the basic gestures used to write Chinese characters. According to the classification system, there are around 12 different strokes which, combined in different ways, form all the Chinese characters.

Definition and use of pinyin

Le pinyin literally ‘combining sounds’, is a phonetic transcription system that uses the Latin alphabet to transcribe the sounds of Mandarin Chinese. Invented in China in 1958, it is now the officially recognised officially recognised and most widely used romanisation system.

Pinyin is useful in two main ways:

It makes it easier for non-native speakers to learn Chinese pronunciation. It provides a phonetic representation of the sinograms, enabling a precise sound to be associated with each Chinese character.

It is essential for writing Chinese on digital media. With pinyin, it is possible to enter Chinese characters on a standard keyboard by typing their Latin transcription.

It's important to remember that pinyin is not a substitute for learning Chinese characters. It is a complementary tool that makes it easier to understand and memorise Chinese sounds. However, in order to mastering pinyin requires you to learn the different tones, which are essential in Chinese for distinguishing between words.

How are letters written in Pinyin?

In Pinyin, each letter is written according to specific rules. The letters are similar to those of the Latin alphabet, but their pronunciation differs. For example, the ‘a’ in Pinyin is pronounced like the ‘a’ in ‘chat’ in French.

In addition, some letters are accompanied by numbers or symbols to indicate the tone to be used. For example, ‘a1’, ‘a2’, ‘a3’, ‘a4’ correspond to ā, á, ǎ, à respectively.

The letter ‘v’ is generally used to write ‘ü’ in Pinyin.

It should also be noted that certain consonants are written in a specific way. For example, ‘zh’, ‘ch’ and ‘sh’ are considered special consonants in pinyin.

Finally, writing in Pinyin on a computer or smartphone keyboard is generally done using a standard Latin keyboard, with Pinyin-Chinese conversion tools.

Pronunciation of letters in Pinyin

Pinyin uses the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, each with a specific pronunciation that may differ from that used in French. Familiarising yourself with these differences is essential to mastering Chinese pronunciation. For example, the ‘c’ in Pinyin is pronounced like the ‘ts’ in ‘tsunami’. The ‘i’ is pronounced like the ‘i’ in ‘lit’. The consonants ‘zh’, ‘ch’ and ‘sh’ are pronounced differently depending on the vowel that follows.

Here is an overview of the pronunciation of certain letters in Pinyin:

• a : comme le "a" dans "chat"
• e : comme le "eu" dans "peur"
• i : comme le "i" dans "lit"
• o : comme le "o" dans "botte"
• u : comme le "ou" dans "roue"
• ü : comme le "u" en français

Consonants include :

• b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l : se prononcent comme en français
• z, c, s : se prononcent comme "ds", "ts", "ss"
• zh, ch, sh, r : se prononcent comme "j", "tch", "ch", "r" français guttural

It is important to note that the pronunciation of certain letters varies according to their position in the syllable and the letter that follows them. For example, ‘i’ after ‘c’, ‘z’, ‘s’, ‘zh’, ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘r’ is a silent sound.

Learning to pronounce Pinyin requires practice and careful listening to master the specific sounds of Chinese.

French translation of letters A to H

Découvrons à présent la French translation of letters A to H dans l'alphabet chinois. Il est crucial de souligner que le chinois n'a pas d'alphabet au sens traditionnel du terme. Cependant, une transcription phonétique est possible grâce au système pinyin qui utilise les lettres de l'alphabet latin.

Voici donc les équivalents en pinyin pour les lettres de A à H :

• A ēi
• B bǐ
• C xī
• D dí
• E yī
• F ài fú
• G jí
• H ài chǐ

Each letter is associated with a particular pronunciation in Chinese, which is essential for good communication in Mandarin.

French translation of letters I to P

Let's move on to the French translation of the letters from I to P. Don't forget that each letter of the Latin alphabet has a specific pronunciation in Chinese, as established by the pinyin system.
Pour la lettre I The pinyin translation is ‘ài’, pronounced like the ‘i’ in ‘lit’.

Passons aux lettres __J à N :

• J ēi
• K bǐ
• L xī
• M dí
• N yī

Enfin, les lettres O and P se traduisent respectivement par "ó" et "pì".

Don't forget that these transcriptions will help you learn how to pronounce Chinese words.

French translation of letters Q to Z

To continue our exploration, here is the French translation of the letters from Q to Z in the Chinese alphabet . Once again, it is essential to understand that each letter of the Latin alphabet possède une prononciation particulière en Chinese , définie par le système pinyin

The pinyin translation of the letter Q is ‘jí wú’. The letters R and S are translated as ‘ài ér’ and ‘ài sī’ respectively. For the letters T to Z, here are their pinyin equivalents:

• T 特 (tè)
• U 玉 (yù)
• V 维 (wéi)
• W 独布勒维 (dú bù lè wéi)
• X 伊克斯 (yī kè sī)
• Y 伊格黑克 (yī gé hēi kè)
• Z 贼德 (zéi dé)

Ces transcriptions peuvent servir de référence pour l'apprentissage de la prononciation des mots en Chinese

Distinguishing Mandarin from Cantonese: the key differences

Pour distinguer le Mandarin du Cantonese It is crucial to understand their key differences:

Pronunciation

Mandarin and Cantonese have radically different pronunciations. For example, the Chinese word ‘secret’ is pronounced ‘mi mi’ in Mandarin, whereas in Cantonese it is pronounced ‘bei mat’.

Tones

Mandarin uses four tones, while Cantonese has between six and nine. This difference in tones can make Cantonese more difficult to learn for non-speakers.

Region of use

Mandarin is the official language of China and is widely spoken throughout the country. Cantonese, on the other hand, is mainly spoken in Guangdong province and Hong Kong.

Romanisation

Romanisation systems also differ. Mandarin generally uses the Pinyin system, while Cantonese often uses the Jyutping system.

It's important to remember that pinyin is not a substitute for learning Chinese characters. It is a complementary tool that makes it easier to understand and memorise Chinese sounds. However, in order to mastering pinyin requires you to learn the different tones, which are essential in Chinese for distinguishing between words.

The challenges of translation between French and these Chinese languages

Translating between French and Chinese languages, particularly Mandarin and Cantonese, is a major challenge. One of the main difficulties lies in the nature of the writing systems.

Whereas French uses Latin alphabet , le chinois fonctionne avec des complex characters basés sur des idéogrammes. Chaque caractère représente une idée ou un concept, ce qui nécessite une memorization intensive.

Enfin, il est nécessaire d'avoir une connaissance approfondie des grammatical structures , des idioms et des cultural nuances propres à chaque langue. Ainsi, la traduction ne se limite pas à un simple transfert linguistique, mais nécessite une véritable intercultural understanding

Why two writing systems?

L'existence de deux systèmes d'écriture en chinois, à savoir le système traditionnel et le simplifié, découle principalement de l'histoire et de l'évolution de la langue. Le système traditionnel, riche en détails et en traits, était couramment utilisé en Chine jusqu'au milieu du 20e siècle. Cependant, dans le but de faciliter l'apprentissage et d'accroître l'alphabétisation, le gouvernement a introduit le système simplifié qui réduit le nombre de traits pour chaque caractère. Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages . The traditional system, although more complex, offers greater depth of meaning and nuance, while the simplified system is easier to learn and write. Today, the two systems coexist, each region having a preference for one or the other.

How do I read simplified characters?

Les simplified characters sont une version condensée des caractères chinois traditionnels, créés dans le but de faciliter l'apprentissage et l'écriture. Pour lire ces caractères, la clé est de comprendre leur structure. Chaque caractère est composé de radicals which are basic units with a specific meaning.

For example, the character 安 (safety) is made up of the radical 宀 (roof) and the radical 女 (woman). This composition helps to deduce the meaning of the character.

De plus, le système Pinyin est souvent utilisé pour aider à apprendre la prononciation des caractères simplifiés. Il s'agit d'une transcription phonétique qui utilise l'alphabet latin pour représenter les sons du chinois. Par exemple, le mot 房子 (maison) se prononce "fangzi" en Pinyin.

Learning simplified characters can be facilitated by various methods and online resources, such as Chinese dictionaries, language learning applications and online courses.

Why two writing systems?

L'existence de deux systèmes d'écriture en chinois, à savoir le système traditionnel et le simplifié, découle principalement de l'histoire et de l'évolution de la langue. Le système traditionnel, riche en détails et en traits, était couramment utilisé en Chine jusqu'au milieu du 20e siècle. Cependant, dans le but de faciliter l'apprentissage et d'accroître l'alphabétisation, le gouvernement a introduit le système simplifié qui réduit le nombre de traits pour chaque caractère. Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages . The traditional system, although more complex, offers greater depth of meaning and nuance, while the simplified system is easier to learn and write. Today, the two systems coexist, each region having a preference for one or the other.

How do I read simplified characters?

The influence of Japanese on Chinese writing is an interesting phenomenon that stems mainly from linguistic exchanges between the two countries. It has been established that Japanese writing was strongly inspired by Chinese, particularly through the use of kanji, which are Chinese characters. However, the reverse is also true.

With the adoption of the Chinese writing system, Japan developed its own simplified characters, hiraganas and katakanas. These writing systems then influenced the Chinese script, particularly in Taiwan, where the Zhuyin transcription, based on the Chinese alphabet, was adopted. particularly in Taiwan, where the Zhuyin transcription, based on the Japanese characters hiraganas and katakanas, is used.

It is also interesting to note that Japanese has influenced the Chinese language from a cultural point of view. Today, the use of Japanese words in Chinese is often seen as a sign of modernity and trendiness.

However, despite these influences, Chinese writing has retained its specificity and complexity, notably through the use of sinograms and ideograms.

Rules for writing Chinese characters

The rules for writing Chinese characters are essential for learning the language. Each character follows a specific stroke order, generally from left to right and from top to bottom.

The characters are also inscribed in an imaginary square, their aesthetics depending on the balance of the layout within this square.

It is crucial to follow these rules to ensure good legibility and fluid writing.

For beginners, we recommend that you start by learning the 8 basic strokes of Chinese writing:

• the point (dian)
• the horizontal line (heng)
• the vertical line (shu)
• the hook (gou)
• the raised line (ti)
• and three other specific traits

These strokes, combined in different ways, form the Chinese characters.

There are also complex traits, which are variants of the basic traits. These complex traits can be used to create keys, which are the building blocks of the characteristics.

Finally, it should be noted that Chinese characters are written using strokes, which can be drawn in different ways depending on the character.

Learning the rules for writing Chinese characters is therefore an essential step in mastering the language.

Tools for learning Chinese writing

Pour apprendre l'écriture chinoise, plusieurs outils sont à votre disposition. Tout d'abord, les Chinese language learning books et training workbooks peuvent s'avérer très utiles pour acquérir les bases et pratiquer régulièrement. Parmi eux, le `"Cahier d'entraînement à l'écriture chinoise" présente les 188 caractères les plus courants.

Les mobile applications offrent également de nombreuses fonctionnalités pour apprendre et pratiquer l'écriture chinoise de manière interactive. Par exemple, Globe Speaker est une appli intéressante qui propose d'apprendre les caractères chinois grâce au serious game.

Les online platforms like Globe Speaker once again, offer comprehensive resources for learning Chinese characters, including a presentation of the characters, the order of strokes, etymology, etc.

Enfin, le LEXILOGOS online keyboard permet d'écrire facilement en chinois à partir de l'alphabet latin (pinyin), ce qui peut être très pratique pour s'entraîner à écrire en chinois sur ordinateur.