Introduction
Learning English on Planet Q
Imagine you are going to visit Planet Q, a faraway planet. To communicate with the residents there, you have to learn their language. They also speak English but their English is different from English on Planet Earth. Find out more ...
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English on Planet Q 240 Alphabets
1. Two-Dimensional Space
Words are arranged in a 2-dimensional space in a square box.
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2. Different Spacing
Within a word, the spacing between alphabets varies
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3. THREE Ways of Forming Words
Alphabets can be combined by being Apart, Bonded or Crossed
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4. Different Structures
Here are some basic structures of words
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English on Planet Earth 26 Alphabets
1. Linear
Words are arranged on a straight line from left to right.
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2. Equal Spacing
Equal spacing between alphabets in a word
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3. ONE Way of Forming Words
Alphabets are always placed apart from one another
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4. ONE Structure
Only left to right structure is used
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Learning English on Planet Q is more difficult
because you will
1. NOT be taught the 240 alphabets
before learning the words, which means you have to figure out the alphabets on your own as you learn the words!
2. NOT be taught how to ‘spell’ the alphabets
to form words in a systematic way Again, you have to figure out the structures of words on your own as you learn the words!
3. NOT taught the order the alphabets
as the alphabets are not arranged in a fixed order.
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On Planet Earth, by comparison, English is so much easier to learn
because you
1. Learn the 26 alphabets
before learning English words so you know any word can be formed by just 26 alphabets. It is manageable and easy to grasp.
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2. Learn that there is only ONE way to ‘spell’
the alphabets, that is from left to right on a straight line.
3. Learn the 26 alphabets arranged in a fixed order
from A to Z so it is easy to recall the alphabets.
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Chinese language on Planet Earth shares all the features of English on Planet Q. Now, you understand better why Chinese characters are so difficult to remember if they are not taught systemtically. In LCWW2, we resolved problems 1 and 3 mentiioned above (alphabets and order of alphabets) and now in this book, we are going to provide the solution for problem 2 (spell the words).
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STARTING POINT
WHICH IS THE STARTING POINT?
Check your answers for this activity. Did you get the answers correct?
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Are you able to identify any guiding principle(s) to help you remember the starting point of the characters?
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‘WRITE’ IN YOUR MIND
In LCWW2, we discussed whether it is necessary to write the strokes in Chinese characters in a fixed order. Writing them in a particular order helps you to remember and compare the characters and their parts better.
In LCWW1, we also discussed if it is necessary to write characters by hand to develop your muscle memory. Our recommendation then was to write minimally and purposefully but not too much that it becomes overbearing and resulted in you losing interest.
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By now, you will realise that you can achieve the same and even better results by learning to see visually. This method is a good alternative to learners who are unable or dislike to write. We believe that learning to 'SEE' is the first priority.
In this book, we are introducing the concept 'Write in your mind'. When you see a character, don’t see it as a stack of sticks piling on top of one another. Instead see the character to be composed of distinctive and recognisable alphabets and/or strokes appearing in sequence. Visualise the alphabets/ strokes in colours, see them appearing one by one according to the sequence. Note if there are any bond points or cross points.
You will realise that the general guideline that the starting point usually starts from the shaded grids within the square box (see page vii) may not help much as there could be more than one stroke starting in these grids for these characters.
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Looking out for the leftmost or topmost point in a character is also not a good indication on the starting point of a character. Sometimes, the starting point may not be any of the extreme points (outermost points) of a character.
In conclusion, the current ways of identifying the starting point of a character do not provide sufficient guidelines for beginners.
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STORY III: ACTUAL PERFORMANCES
In LCWW2, we discussed whether it is necessary to write the strokes in Chinese characters in a fixed order. Writing them in a particular order helps you to remember and compare the characters and their parts better.
In LCWW1, we also discussed if it is necessary to write characters by hand to develop your muscle memory. Our recommendation then was to write minimally and purposefully but not too much that it becomes overbearing and resulted in you losing interest.
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By now, you will realise that you can achieve the same and even better results by learning to see visually. This method is a good alternative to learners who are unable or dislike to write. We believe that learning to 'SEE' is the first priority.
In this book, we are introducing the concept 'Write in your mind'. When you see a character, don’t see it as a stack of sticks piling on top of one another. Instead see the character to be composed of distinctive and recognisable alphabets and/or strokes appearing in sequence. Visualise the alphabets/ strokes in colours, see them appearing one by one according to the sequence. Note if there are any bond points or cross points.
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After the performers graduated from the Boot Camps where they learnt how to create partial formations (alphabets) according to the 32 stroke patterns, they are now ready to perform.
In actual performances, they will create the full formations (characters) quickly in the square box. See the next page.
5 Strokes
Remember we mentioned that 5 performers did not participate in the boot camps. They will be going straight to the performances. In other words, these performers (strokes) do not appear in partial formations (alphabets), they will turn up in the full formations (characters).
Z-Hook: 乙 乞
L7-Bends: 鼎
7L-Bends: 凹
Double-7 Bends: 凸
Curl-Up: 心 必
HOW YOU’LL LEARN
You will learn Chinese characters systematically according to their appearance—from simple structure to more complex ones —starting from single stroke to single alphabet to Standard Part Order to Unique Part Order. Characters with more complex structures can be decoded using these simpler structures.
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1. SIMPLE RULES
are rules of thumb to help you learn quickly and efficiently.
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(A) STROKE ORDER RULES
qTRAILS Alphabets can be remembered easily through the 32 stroke patterns taught in LCWW2.
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(B) PART ORDER RULES
Characters with multiple parts can be remembered via the Standard Part Order Rules, Unique Part Order Rules and Part Order of Intersecting Parts
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2. SYMBOLS
PART ORDER SYMBOLS
Symbols associated with these part order rules are presented together to help you visualise the structures.
3. COLOURS
To help you to learn visually, we introduce another set of 6-colour code for the Part Order of characters. These colours are also used in the symbols. You will be able to see how characters can be put together in a certain order in the square box easily. In contrast to Chinese characters in black, you will be able to distinguish these colour-coded characters easily.
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Remember the 6 colours—pink, white, light blue, yellow, purple and green.
4. BOND POINT & CROSS POINT OF PARTS
In LCWW2, we analysed the relationships between strokes in alphabets—whether they are apart, bonded or crossed. In this book, we will analyse the relationships between PARTS—qTRAIL Alphabets and 35 strokes.
Instead of finding the Bond Point (BP) and Cross Point (CP) of strokes, we will look at BP and CP of parts. Note the symbols used are slightly different from those shown in previous books.
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© 2017 by W.Q. Blosh