A Critical Analysis of the Use of Pinyin as a Substitute of Chinese Characters.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	A Critical Analysis of the Use of Pinyin as a Substitute of Chinese Characters.
Authors:	Mushangwe, Herbert¹, Chisoni, Godfrey²
Source:	Journal of Language Teaching & Research. May2015, Vol. 6 Issue 3, p685-694. 10p. 1 Color Photograph, 8 Charts.
Subject Terms:	Vocabulary, Chinese language education, Critical analysis, Pinyin romanization, Chinese characters, Phonetics, Grammar
Abstract:	The present research paper critically examines use of pinyin as a substitute of characters by Zimbabwean students during acquisition of Chinese language. A questionnaire survey and character recognition survey was done and it was discovered that the use of pinyin as a substitute for Chinese characters negatively affects the acquisition of more complex characters. It was concluded that since each Chinese character is an individual morpheme that carries meaning, therefore dependence on Chinese pinyin negatively affects vocabulary acquisition. The paper recommends that use of pinyin in teaching Chinese language should be limited to the first few weeks, because pinyin was developed to help students acquire the phonetic system of Chinese language rather than the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar. The paper suggests that there is need to explore more ways of balancing the teaching of pinyin and characters in a way that will motivate learners to like Chinese language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Journal of Language Teaching & Research is the property of Academy Publication Co., LTD and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	The present research paper critically examines use of pinyin as a substitute of characters by Zimbabwean students during acquisition of Chinese language. A questionnaire survey and character recognition survey was done and it was discovered that the use of pinyin as a substitute for Chinese characters negatively affects the acquisition of more complex characters. It was concluded that since each Chinese character is an individual morpheme that carries meaning, therefore dependence on Chinese pinyin negatively affects vocabulary acquisition. The paper recommends that use of pinyin in teaching Chinese language should be limited to the first few weeks, because pinyin was developed to help students acquire the phonetic system of Chinese language rather than the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar. The paper suggests that there is need to explore more ways of balancing the teaching of pinyin and characters in a way that will motivate learners to like Chinese language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	17984769
DOI:	10.17507/jltr.0603.28