Is physical writing still important in our generation?
Context
I was born and raised in Hong Kong for over 15 years, and would consider myself a native Cantonese speaker. However, if you asked me to physically write Chinese characters in order to save a cute little puppyđśâŚ it would unfortunately not make it.
Why is that? Why can read, speak and listen to Chinese perfectly fine but have such a low grasp on writing. Iâve read the Remembrance of Earthâs Past Trilogy and other books with no clear issues. So why is the physical act of writing impossible for me? This activity seems to require a different collection of memory and a different way of learning.
A further argument is that since I can function in Chinese, maybe the physical act of writing is a remnant of the past.
What is going on when I try to write Chinese characters?
If I can express ideas verbally, shouldnât I be able to write them as well? This is what I do in English. This is what I do in English. You can tell in my tone here that I approach writing in a casual, speaking-like manner. However, when I take pen to paper in Chinese, my mind goes totally blank and I canât even piece together a proper sentence.
An incorrect analogy is forgetting how to spell a word in English. In English, by pronouncing the word I can probably fudge it and make it 90% there. In Chinese, itâs more like trying to do a life-like painting of a person you know. Itâs clear as day what this person looks like but when you start, you realise all the detail is not there. I often can start by trying to imagine reading the character in a book and attempting to replicate it. For most characters that I donât recall, my success rate would be less than 20%.
The size of the gap between my reading versus my writing.
An obvious reason is that Chinese is a logogram writing system. This is where writing is based on logos/symbols/characters and not based phonetically. This means knowing how to say a word has almost no bearing on how to write it. I say almost as there are usually é¨éŚ that do guide pronunciation.
Is Typing the same as writing?
I type using Pinyin. Pinyin is the phonetic conversion of a character constructed using the alphabet. Pinyin sprouted around the 50s and is taught around the world. There are other input methods using an array of different philosophies like the order of strokes.
Using Pinyinâs 2 has core strengths. One, I can sound the word out. Two, I can use the keyboard assistance to read the potential options.
To me, writing is a way to communicate ideas to readers.
Whether I write those words or type those words doesnât seem too critical. I wouldnât write this article on paper first and then re-type it out, and the the reader also wouldnât know/care.
If the goal is to convey information to many people, typing might even be a more important skill of the language to learn. To further push this established premise, I tried learning Japanese for around 3 months. My teacher never once brought up teaching me how to write Kanji. It seemed to be a given that I would learn how to type instead.
Conclusion
My final conclusion is that learning to physically write is no longer an important facet of languages. The design of prose and command of vocabulary are vital to good writing.