漢語拼音 : 不可不知的優勢 Important Benefits of Learning Pinyin

漢語拼音: 不可不知的優勢

有沒有碰到過這樣的情況：你明明是知道那個字的，就是寫不出來。

啊，還好你知道它的普通話讀法，於是你拿出手機，用拼音輸入，屏幕顯示了幾個字，你一眼就認出了，問題解決了！
我每天寫好幾千個字，碰上這種情況還真不少。

我們中國人溝通，用的當然都是漢字。但在這華洋雲集、方言流通的時代，拼音倒也有它崇高的存在價值。
我們來看看。

Important Benefits of Learning Pinyin

Has the following ever happened to you:

You’re writing in Chinese and there is this character you don’t remember how to write. But you know how to say it. So you take out your smartphone and input the pinyin. Voila, it displays a few selections and you spot it at one glance. Problem solved!
As someone who writes thousands of words everyday, I myself have come across the above scenario multiple times.
While 漢字 (hanzi, Chinese characters) is the go-to medium for Chinese to communicate with each other, in this era of intense international interaction, pinyin has undeniably earned its place.

Let’s take a look.

另一種語音書寫體系
A Romanised Phonological Recording System

Pinyin is a combination of Roman letters and Chinese phonetics. Nowadays, most people in this world are already familiar with the Roman alphabet. Pinyin uses the 26 letters of the alphabet, plus a few new digraphs (such as zh, an, ang) and the indication of the 4 intonations. Once you have mastered these basics, it becomes easy to learn how a character should be pronounced.

As someone whose first language is not Chinese, it has become easier to grasp Chinese through pinyin. Pinyin is also useful for those whose mother tongue is another dialect, such as Cantonese. It helps them to learn the standard pronunciation in Putonghua.

拼音已成為漢語國際標準
Pinyin Is an International Standard

助長孩子的自信心
Building a Child's Confidence in Self Expression

對於生活在海外、正開始學中文的孩子來說，無論他們本身是否中國人，他們最先要學的往往是自己的中文姓名。要是在這第一關就碰壁，就會影響了日後的學習信心。有了拼音的協助，他們就能準確說出自己的名字。這對正在發展自我認知的孩子來說很重要，因為自己的姓名是自己身分的第一個代表，拼音消除了語音隔膜，幫助孩子表達自己，加強孩子的自信心，讓他們更容易親近漢語。

中國人的姓氏對外國人來說，往往讀不準。拼音就可以打破這層障礙。在香港和台灣，不少人會以方言發音將自己的姓名羅馬字化；但絕大多數的中國人還是用普通話拼音向外國人自我介紹；即使有洋名，姓總是中國姓。拼音為我們的姓名提供了標準的依歸。

對於生於海外的中國孩子來說，拼音更是學漢語和電腦輸入打漢字的最簡易方法。當這些孩子到了中學、甚至大學，拼音就變得更實用了。無論是私人通訊或是面對考試，他們都可以輕易以文書處理表達自己要說的話。

For young children learning Chinese, especially those from foreign countries, their Chinese names are often the first thing they learn. This is true whether the child is Chinese or not. Learning pinyin can help them pronounce their names correctly. It certainly helps boost their confidence and interest in learning the Chinese language.

A lot of people have difficulties pronouncing Chinese names correctly. Pinyin helps with this. Although in Hong Kong or in Taiwan, many people spell their names based on the pronunciation of their own dialects, most Chinese use pinyin as their Romanised version of their name. Pinyin has given us a standard way to tell others our name.

Nowadays, pinyin input has become a simple and standardised way to type Chinese. This is especially helpful for children who grow up overseas, when they reach high school, university, or beyond. They will be able to use pinyin with word processors to express themselves correctly in Chinese characters, both in formal situations or casual chats with friends.

為將來作準備
Prepare your Child

讓孩子從小學習拼音，有助為他們的將來作充份準備。當他們日後要報考大學，尤其是海外的大學，懂得拼音輸入法會為他們帶來優勢 (或最少不會落後)。很多海外大學的評核試，例如美國的AP test，拼音就是他們的官方認可輸入法。

而對於我們那些快要出來工作的年長孩子，學習拼音就更重要了。隨着眾多工業的電子化，操控電腦和電子儀器是重要的工作表現能力。所有人都必須具備漢字輸入能力，而拼音可以說是最簡易快捷的一種輸入法。

拼音固然有很多不足之處，不能取代漢字。但它可以為溝通帶來極大的便利，也可以成為有效的學習工具，值得我們的重視和採納。

Learning Pinyin at a young age can better prepare young children. When they are old enough to take the various standardized tests to get admitted to their desired universities, pinyin will put them at an advantage. For many standardized tests for the Chinese language, such as the Advanced Placement (AP) tests in America, Pinyin is the official computer input method that is admitted during the tests.

For our older children who will be entering the workforce, there are many reasons to learn pinyin. As industries become increasingly digitized, job performances are often evaluated based on individuals’ computer skills. It is becoming inevitable to learn various computer input methods. Pinyin is one of the easiest and fastest way to type Chinese, for both Chinese and foreign Chinese-learners.

Although Pinyin has many limitations on its own, its convenience in facilitating communication and learning is the one of the main reasons you should incorporate it into your children’s Chinese learning journey.

漢語拼音 : 不可不知的優勢 Important Benefits of Learning Pinyin