New Resource: Learn From the Bible Bk. Pīnyīn Plus Web Material

For many years now, language learners in the Mandarin field have been accustomed to ruby Pīnyīn material (like official Pīnyīn material) and 3-line material. These formats, however, are burdened with legacies relating to paper (all available information must always be visible), and relating to Chinese characters (Chinese characters are traditionally considered the primary and only acceptable writing system for Mandarin).

Now, material is available in a newer format, the Pīnyīn Plus format, that seeks to leave behind unnecessary traditional legacies. As it does so, it also takes advantage of current technological realities and deep truths about language.

Pīnyīn Plus material is speech-first and mobile-first in design. It focuses on helping and encouraging publishers to learn Mandarin speech, the primary language skill required in the Mandarin field. (1 Co. 14:8–11) Taking advantage of modern computing device displays, Pīnyīn Plus material dynamically and interactively provides the language-learning and memory-strengthening benefits of flashcards, and integrates these benefits into the context of a publication’s Mandarin text, in the style of augmented reality (AR).

Some Pīnyīn Plus web material is now available for the Learn From the Bible book:

• Learn From the Bible Bk.
  (Pīnyīn Plus, Scriptures, Web)
  (rich information about Mandarin speech
  for discussing Bible lessons and accounts,
  as represented by the text of the
  Mandarin Learn From the Bible book,
  2018-03 Printing, proofread, mobile-friendly,
  flashcards integrated with the text,
  Pīnyīn (Pinyin) used as the default writing system,
  carefully done human-translated
  context-appropriate English translations
  with literal & effective meanings,
  Simplified & Traditional characters,
  📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and
  📘 Reveal None controls
  for all the “flashcards” in a
  lesson, paragraph, etc.,
  links for getting around,
  picture thumbnails & links, audio links,
  Night Theme that can be turned on or off
  using the ☀️/🌙 button at the top right,
  adjustable text size)
  (Info re offline viewing and printing)
• Short Links:
  Links > Publications > Books >
  Learn From the Bible Book Links (tiandi.info/lfb)

For now, fully proofread Pīnyīn Plus material (with all the “flashcards”) covering from the front cover to the end of Lesson 2 is available. Also, partially proofread Pīnyīn Plus and Pīnyīn material covering to the end of Lesson 15 is available. Material with a grey background has been partially proofread. Pīnyīn material with a golden-hued background has been proofread, but not all of its “flashcards” have been added and proofread.

Here is a link to some information about the thinking behind the design of Pīnyīn Plus material:

• Pīnyīn Plus

To expand on the points listed re the above resource, note that:

• The material in the above resource has been carefully translated, rendered, and proofread. Material with a grey background has been partially proofread. Pīnyīn material with a golden-hued background has been proofread, but not all of its “flashcards” have been added and proofread.
• The material in the above resource is based on the latest 2018-03 printing of the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book. If you notice that some changes need to be made to the material in the above resource to bring it in line with revisions to the Learn From the Bible book, please email me to let me know.
• The linked full text of cited scriptures is included in the above resource, as time allows. (Unusually long, narrative scriptures will link to the official Pīnyīn NWT web material on the WOL.)
• The above resource is mobile-friendly—the material is quite legible and usable on everything from desktop/laptop PCs and Macs to iPads and other tablets to iPhones and other smartphones.
• In the above resource, links are used extensively to make it quick and easy to get around in the material, drastically reducing the amount of manual scrolling needed.
• The above resource contains picture links which point to the official pictures on jw.org or the WOL.
• The above resource contains links to the official Mandarin MP3 audio files on jw.org.
• For your convenience, a short link (Learn From the Bible Book Links (tiandi.info/lfb)) is available for the above resources.

Also, the introduction explains why it’s good to use Pīnyīn as a writing system on its own.