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rainwatersparkin the How To Learn Any Language forum, I've come across a thread discussing the benefits of simplified vs. traditional Chinese.
Seriously, is there even any debate there?
If you want to learn traditional, good for you. If you want to be able to read Classical Chinese texts in the original or go to Taiwan, that's your decision. It's great if you want to wax eloquent about the beauty or history behind traditional characters and why it might be worth your time to take a look at them, but I don't see why people feel like they have to insist that traditional is so much better than simplified, that you have to learn traditional, or that you should because it's "not that big of a jump".
Not all people are so enthusiastic about learning Chinese that they would want to spend even more effort to learn the traditional form of the characters after having spent enough effort learning the simplified. Some people just want to be able to communicate in and read the modern language. Simplified will serve you throughout most of mainland China, especially in big cities; practically every Chinese student in the PRC learns simplified; what's more, it's easier to write, easier to read (I've tried to read manga in traditional Chinese, and it becomes a huge headache trying to figure out what some characters actually are when the 20+ strokes run together in a blob), and it's more or less easier to remember.
I thought these things would be self-evident, but apparently not...
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Very much off-topic, but...
WHEN THE HECK ARE AMERICA'S CHARACTER SONG PREVIEWS COMING OUT???!
Seriously, is there even any debate there?
If you want to learn traditional, good for you. If you want to be able to read Classical Chinese texts in the original or go to Taiwan, that's your decision. It's great if you want to wax eloquent about the beauty or history behind traditional characters and why it might be worth your time to take a look at them, but I don't see why people feel like they have to insist that traditional is so much better than simplified, that you have to learn traditional, or that you should because it's "not that big of a jump".
Not all people are so enthusiastic about learning Chinese that they would want to spend even more effort to learn the traditional form of the characters after having spent enough effort learning the simplified. Some people just want to be able to communicate in and read the modern language. Simplified will serve you throughout most of mainland China, especially in big cities; practically every Chinese student in the PRC learns simplified; what's more, it's easier to write, easier to read (I've tried to read manga in traditional Chinese, and it becomes a huge headache trying to figure out what some characters actually are when the 20+ strokes run together in a blob), and it's more or less easier to remember.
I thought these things would be self-evident, but apparently not...
-----
Very much off-topic, but...
WHEN THE HECK ARE AMERICA'S CHARACTER SONG PREVIEWS COMING OUT???!
