Even if you don’t speak a word of ChiÂnese, you sureÂly know that the lanÂguage uses not an alphaÂbet, but ideoÂgraphÂic charÂacÂters: about 50,000 of them, all told, 3,000 to 5,000 of which must be memÂoÂrized in order to achieve reaÂsonÂable litÂerÂaÂcy. The potenÂtial for conÂflict between the ChiÂnese writÂing sysÂtem and twenÂty-first-cenÂtuÂry techÂnolÂoÂgy hardÂly needs explaÂnaÂtion. How, in short, do ChiÂnese peoÂple type? YoutuÂber JohnÂny HarÂris offers an explaÂnaÂtion in the video above, beginÂning with the perÂhaps counÂterÂinÂtuÂitive answer that ChiÂnese peoÂple type with more or less the same keyÂboard everyÂone else does — when they’re using a comÂputÂer, at any rate.
Our smartÂphone age has givÂen rise to a numÂber of difÂferÂent input sysÂtems, all designed to perÂform the same basic task of adaptÂing the ancient and elabÂoÂrate writÂten ChiÂnese lanÂguage to digÂiÂtal moderÂniÂty. In HarÂris’ telling, these techÂnoloÂgies turn on two major develÂopÂments: the creÂation of pinyin, a verÂsion of the Latin alphaÂbet that phoÂnetÂiÂcalÂly repÂreÂsents ChiÂnese charÂacÂters, and the develÂopÂment of algoÂrithms that preÂdict which charÂacÂter the user wants to type next.
His explaÂnaÂtion is breezy and not withÂout its errors (the diaÂgram about thirÂteen minÂutes in, for examÂple, actuÂalÂly shows the KoreÂan alphaÂbet), and you might conÂsidÂer supÂpleÂmentÂing it with videos like expaÂtriÂate Matthew Tye’s more detailed “How Do ChiÂnese PeoÂple Type?” above.
But if you truÂly want to underÂstand the evoÂluÂtion of ChiÂnese typÂing, you must begin with the ChiÂnese typeÂwriter — and so must read Tom MulÂlaney. A ProÂfesÂsor of East Asian LanÂguage and CulÂtures at StanÂford UniÂverÂsiÂty, MulÂlaney pubÂlished The ChiÂnese TypeÂwriter: A HisÂtoÂry five years ago, and has more recentÂly been at work on a folÂlow-up on the ChiÂnese comÂputÂer. In the lecÂture above, he recounts the ChiÂnese typeÂwriter’s once-imposÂsiÂble-seemÂing develÂopÂment in an hour and a half, conÂnectÂing it to a host of culÂturÂal, linÂguisÂtic, orthoÂgraphÂic, and techÂnoÂlogÂiÂcal pheÂnomÂeÂna along the way. It’s a stoÂry of ingeÂnuÂity, but also of surÂvival. ChiÂnese made it through the twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry withÂout being manÂgled or abolÂished to meet the limÂiÂtaÂtions of WestÂern engiÂneerÂing, but not every writÂing sysÂtem was quite so lucky.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
An AniÂmatÂed HisÂtoÂry of WritÂing: From Ancient Egypt to ModÂern WritÂing SysÂtems
When IBM CreÂatÂed a TypeÂwriter to Record Dance MoveÂments (1973)
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities, the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles and the video series The City in CinÂeÂma. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall, on FaceÂbook, or on InstaÂgram.
I didÂn’t realÂly underÂstand the video. I would love it if the teacher would explain it to me.