Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

english

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

Everyone please be respectful of the fact that not everyone on this list

speaks English as their native tongue. There is no reason to ridicule

someone for misspelling a term, especially a slang term. If you need to

correct someone, be polite about it. I applaud the participation of our

many foreign members and only wish Americans would learn to speak

something besides English before criticizing others who have undertaken

such a difficult task.

 

--

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To those whom Todd feels my expostulation may have insulted by impugning

their use of the English language, perhaps you can take some minor pleasure

in my incorrect use of the word prologue in place of epilogue in my

somnifacient exhortation about hong qu.

 

Stephen Morrissey OMD

 

 

Saturday, September 23, 2000 11:17 AM

cha

english

 

Everyone please be respectful of the fact that not everyone on this list

speaks English as their native tongue. There is no reason to ridicule

someone for misspelling a term, especially a slang term. If you need to

correct someone, be polite about it. I applaud the participation of our

many foreign members and only wish Americans would learn to speak

something besides English before criticizing others who have undertaken

such a difficult task.

 

--

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine

 

 

 

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing

in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services,

including board approved online continuing education.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In fact, if we pay attention to the

difficulties experienced in the communication

of Chinese ideas in the English language

we can gain important understandings of

the ways in which the transmission of not

just words but ideas is affected by the

kinds of pressures that build up along

cultural borders.

 

It's somewhat analagous to what we have

just been talking about in the threads

about fallibility and failure...of both

clinical interventions and medical literature.

 

When ideas fail to be clearly and correctly

transmitted, misunderstandings result.

Responsibility lies at both ends of the

communication, which is why we need

translation standards, dictionaries, and

the like.

 

It is also why American students of Chinese

medicine need to study the Chinese language,

Chinese culture and traditions of intellectualism

in Chinese history. Insisting that the subject

be delivered to us in English is a typically

American brand of spiritual imperialism.

 

The cries of " We don't have time. " and " It's

too difficult. " are, strictly speaking, absurd.

 

We Western students of Chinese medicine find

ourselves in a somewhat different situation

if and when we travel to China and converse

with Chinese doctors and scholars in Chinese

about Chinese medicine, Chinese patients,

and so on.

 

Then it is we who make the silly mistakes

in expressing ourselves and we who get it

all wrong because of failing to have

understood the tone of a word correctly.

 

Like all good failures, these experiences

are enormously instructive. Certainly

more so than reading another rant by

 

The Orientalist

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...