Why make things so difficult?

The proposed changes to 44 Chinese characters have recently stirred opposition as the move is seen as a financial disaster for publishers across the country. I'm not expressing a pro or con position on the opportunity of such changes suggested by the State Language Commission. But I would like to examine the problem calmly.

French spelling is extremely complicated, and the grammar contains more exceptions to the rules than rules. A reform was carried out in 1990 (of which most French users are not even aware), and the new spelling goes along harmoniously with the old one. Both are official, both are allowed to be used, and none can be rejected, in schools, in government documents and in publishing fields.

Every year, in any language, more new words appear; some become obsolete; others change spelling. Let's take French as an example again. Will dictionaries that have already been printed, be destroyed and replaced by new editions? Not at all. Dictionary publishers produce an addendum containing the new words; and, this is done year after year, until there are enough changes to be included into a new edition.

Why should 44 Chinese characters create such an upheaval? Some people can start using the new characters along with other users who will keep the old ones. Both forms can be accepted in parallel for a while, until all the Chinese get used to the new writing.

Public signs containing "old" characters should not undergo a compulsory change, but new signs would adopt the modern form. The same should apply to personal names, unless the concerned persons deliberately want to change the characters. On the contrary, newborns' names containing one of the 44 modified characters could be subjected to the modernized form.

Language - any language - is alive. Language is prone to change, just like the world changes, our life changes. Trying to stop it is not only counterproductive but also impossible.

Lisa Carducci

via e-mail

Avoid the flaw of Detroit

President Hu Jintao spoke this week on Xinjiang and solutions to address the aftermath of the ethnic riots in Xinjiang's regional capital of Urumqi on July 5. He urged the region to "pay attention to reform and development as well as ethnic unity and stability."

To maintain the solidarity and stability in Xinjiang, we should avoid the pitfalls which have affected Detroit, US. In 1967, severe riots in Detroit left 43 people dead and required the US government to send 8,000 National Guardsmen and 4,700 regular army troops to restore order. In the aftermath, the United States government implemented policies for hiring more African-Americans in public sector jobs even if they lacked qualifications compared to white job seekers. The policies prevented another riot from occurring but they also failed to promote ethnic unity or development. White citizens felt highly taxed as they created more wealth for the city, yet saw the money being spent on hiring less competent employees. Detroit is now bankrupt and most whites have long since left the city. Whites were once the majority but now account for only 12 percent of the population, and African-Americans are more than 80 percent of the city.

Hence, the development aid to Xinjiang should consider all areas and all ethnic groups in the autonomous region, and not allow anyone to feel disadvantaged.

Li Jun

via e-mail

(China Daily 09/01/2009 page9)