Puzzles in Chinese Names

1900

"When I went to school I was always at the head of the class in geography," said the Studious Citizen. "I could 'bound' anything and name the nearest route to almost any place. I've always kept up my interest in geography, but latterly the pursuit is almost too much for me. The world is growing, I suppose, and I'm getting old.

"The Spanish-American War put a heavy strain on me; had to learn a lot of new places, you know. Well, that soon ended. I was getting pretty well acquainted with the Philippines, when the South African War came along.

"I wouldn't like to say, on the spur of the moment, which are the harder to spell, pronounce and remember, Philippine names or South African names. But neither can compare with the Chinese names that we have to keep track of now."

The Studious Citizen spread out his reference books and invited the guest to look on. "Why, sir," he added, testily, "if you'll believe me, the geographers and statisticians don't know how to spell 'em themselves!

"Take the 'royal province' of China, the province that contains the capital city of Pekin. (Call it 'Peking,' if you want to; you'll find books to back you up.) The 'Statesman's Year-Book' names that province 'Chili' and `Chihli.' 'Rand & McNally's Atlas' calls it 'Chihli.' 'Cram's Atlas' adds some decorative frills and brings forth 'Pe-Chi-Li.' And 'Lippincott's Gazetteer' gives you three guesses, 'Pe-Chee-Lee,' 'Chee-Lee' and 'Chi-Li.'

"Suppose we look up that city from which the allies started for Pekin. 'Tient-sin' the 'Statesman's Year-Book' calls it on one page; on another page it prints the name as one word, without any hyphen. 'Cram' declares it is 'Tien-sin,' the 'Rand Atlas' prefers 'Tientsin,' and 'Lippincott' drops in an extra capital and gives us 'Tien-Tsin.'

"But the time the map-makers really get into the worst tangle is when they come to name the northern terminus of the Imperial Railway, a city at the head of the Gulf of Liao-Tung — or Leao Tong, or Liautung. The 'Year-Book' calls it 'ChenChou'; 'Cram' says 'Kinchow'; the 'Rand Atlas' pronounces for 'Kinchau,' and 'Lippincott's Gazetteer,' which is nothing if not generous, suggests 'Kin-Choo,' 'Kin-Tchoo' and 'Kin-Tchou.'

"'Who shall decide when doctors disagree?' Well, these are all authorities, and probably it would be as safe to follow one as another. But he will be a clever man who, when writing about Chinese matters, doesn't sometimes spell a name in two or three different ways. I shall have a great deal of sympathy for editors while this trouble lasts.

"I wonder they don't all print in their papers some such notice as that which was hung over the dance-hall piano in the Western mining-camp. You remember it? 'Please don't shoot at the piano-player,' it said. 'He is doing the best he can.'" — Youth's Companion.

Spelling Stuck the Jury

1914

Point of Information They Wanted Involved No Great Legal Knowledge, If Judge Had It

Here is one that was told at a tea given by Miss Geraldine Farrar, the singer, when one of the party referred to the judiciary and the peculiar cases that frequently come before the courts:

"Some time ago there was a homicide case in a western court in which there was considerable doubt as to the guilt of the accused. The trial judge seemed to share the popular belief.

" 'Gentlemen of the jury,' said he, in concluding his charge, 'if the evidence, in your minds, shows that pneumonia was the cause of the man's death, you cannot convict the prisoner.'

"Whereat the jury retired and in about ten minutes the constable returned and presented himself before the judge.

" 'Your honor.' he remarked, "the gentleman of the jury want some in- formation.'

" 'On what point of evidence?' asked the judge.

" 'None, judge,' was the rejoinder of the constable. 'They want to know how to spell "pneumonia,"' " — Philadelphia Telegraph.

"Good" Spelling — Simplifying Spelling

1906

Scientific Phonetic Principles Groundwork of the Simplified Spelling Board's Crusade

By Benjamin E. Smith

It is true that the only really good spelling is phonetic spelling; it is unfortunately true that our orthography, though not wholly unphonetic, is from the true phonetic point of view little less than a nightmare; but it is also true that to reform it phonetically would necessitate a radical transformation of the great majority of the familiar forms of English words, because it would involve extensive alterations of the alphabet. To say, as some do, that this alphabetic reconstruction should be the end rather than the beginning — a goal to which a gradual approach may be made — is only to recommend the substitution of prolonged confusion and anarchy for a quick and sweeping revolution.

But that the great mass of English-speakers, who, as Prof. Lounsbury has said, have lost the phonetic sense, will consent to give up at once or gradually, through a transition period of vexatious confusion, their orthographic habits, their prejudices and their convenience, in order that their spelling, or that of their grandchildren, may assume a form which, from its strangeness seems to them utterly repulsive, is a supposition which cannot be entertained unless one relies upon the scientific accuracy of one's principles more than upon one's knowledge of human nature.

The full recognition of this fact by the Simplified Spelling Board is what chiefly distinguishes its program and makes it a practicable and hopeful one. All of its members, probably, heartily believe in the phonetic principle; they may expect or hope that some time it may be embodied in English orthography; but they are agreed that it must be subordinated to other practical principles in any reform for which it is reasonable to work. They have not abandoned the standard of the earlier revolt; but they have changed the point of attack and the plan of campaign. This should be distinctly grasped by all who are interested in their work and plans. — The Century.

Spelling vs. Other Things

1901

The Labors of Teachers Being Added to Daily

Anna Stuart Wroe writes to the Baltimore Sun: "It seems to me if I were a public school teacher — which, thank the fates, I am not — the present vacation would be peculiarly blessed and blissful, inasmuch as it succeeds such weary, harassing and anxious terms as was never known in the history of our public schools. At least, the poor teachers have a short respite from the eternal prod, and their first waking thought in the morning need not be 'What next?' — until September.

"Every day something new is introduced to add to the labors of teachers and scholars, and, it appears to me, so much that could be dispensed with. Of course it is right and proper for children to learn all they can, but surely the line must be drawn somewhere, as it is manifestly impossible to learn everything. Why not cut out a few of the 'isms and ologies' and abstruse studies that are all right in a college course, but needless for the average public school pupil, and pay more attention to such common subjects as spelling, punctuation, grammar and plain English composition?

"I am a typewriter, and during the past 11 years have had in my office 51 girls from the public schools, most of them from the eighth grade, and some having attended the high school one year or more, and I speak whereof know when I say that 49 of the above could not write a letter from dictation correctly to save their lives — correctly so far as spelling, punctuation, capitalization and paragraphing are concerned. Not three of the 49 had the remotest idea of dividing a word according to its syllables, and only today an eighth grade girl wrote the word 'transpose' with 'tr' on one line and the balance of the word on the next. I am told that each teacher is a law unto herself in this matter. What else the 49 girls knew it is not my province to ascertain, but I think everybody will admit that the aforesaid 'common branches' are of more practical value, especially where girls are compelled to support themselves, than so many things now taught, and of which they may at best get but a smattering; so, if there is not time for all, for goodness' sake let them at least be taught enough grammar, spelling and punctuation to enable them to write a decent English letter."