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Handwriting inefficiency

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-16 07:42

It's necessary to test the writing of Chinese characters in the age of Internet when most people disregard their handwriting skill, says an article in Qianjiang Evening Post. The following is an excerpt:

Chinese Characters Proficiency Test, aimed at measuring the language usage ability of teachers, secretaries, editors, journalists and students, will be piloted in 11 provinces in China this year. It's reported that this test has not yet been listed as compulsory for students on campus, but it will hopefully become a required one in the future. Then, the test results will affect students' school entrance and employment in the job market.

With the proliferation of computers and Internet, most people have fewer chances to write with a pen. Seldom do we take writing of Chinese characters as a course in school. Not only primary and high school students but also college students have varying degrees of difficulty writing standard Chinese characters. Meanwhile, a foreign language being deemed more important than Chinese in the job market has also contributed to the deteriorating Chinese character-writing skill.

It's common for many to write non-standard Chinese characters or be unable to write down characters. Many Chinese write illegible characters and it's quite awesome to look at them. If we don't take measures to address this issue, Chinese characters will probably enter into the age of "mass scribbling". What people will see then is the unbearably illegible modern writing. In fact, the disorder of Chinese writing is due to the ignorance of the Chinese about their mother language. If this situation continues , many will lose their ability to write the characters of their own language.

(China Daily 10/16/2008 page8)