[NOTE: This post was updated January 2017], JFK was wrong. http://www.pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html, John F. Kennedy Quote. On pinyin.info, a website about the Chinese language, Victor H. Mair, a professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, firmly corrects an American linguistic blunder that interprets the word “crisis” in Chinese as meaning both “danger” and “opportunity.”. ]), or hǎo shíjī (“good” + “time” + “incipient moment” = “favorable opportunity”). As Professor Mair explains (the three paragraphs below are taken directly from Dr. Mair’s article): [The word] “crisis” (wēijī) consists of two syllables that are written with two separate characters, wēi and jī. Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. La Cina infatti è uno dei maggiori detentori del debito pubblico USA, provate un po’ a imporgli qualcosa per aggiustare la vostra crisi, se ci riuscite. In cinese, “crisi = pericolo + opportunità”? American linguist Benjamin Zimmer has traced mentions in English of the Chinese term for "crisis" as far as an anonymous editorial in a 1938 journal for missionaries in China. Takeaway: It is scary how easily we take things at face value and accept them as “truths” or “facts” without ever doing the proper research. … Traducción automática: pasado, presente y futuro; Cómo NO conseguir un trabajo de traducción; In the head of bilinguals and interpreters: neurolinguistic aspects; Memory: are you a visual, auditory or kinesthetic type? . Per cui il “so fare qualcosa in un momento cruciale” (机会) è l’opportunità, mentre il “momento cruciale in cui mi trovo in pericolo” (危机) è, appunto, la crisi in cinese, un momento in cui devo assolutamente correre ai ripari perché sta per succedere qualcosa. Se non ti sta bene, c'è una "X" in alto a destra e tanti saluti. Si usa persino per giustificare risultati sportivi non esaltanti. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Questo sito usa i cookie. . In questo modo siamo nella posizione di farci dire:  “occidentali scansafatiche, guardate i cinesi che nella crisi ci vedono del buono”. These cookies do not store any personal information. Si usa per giustificare nuove tasse, buchi nelle strade, tetti che crollano nelle scuole. One might choose, for instance, zhuǎnjī (“turn” + “incipient moment” = “favorable turn; turn for the better”), liángjī (“excellent” + “incipient moment” = “opportunity” [!! The sense of “decisive moment” is first recorded in English in 1627 as a figurative extension of the original medical meaning. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Dal 2008 una delle parole più usate e abusate dai media è senza dubbio “crisi“. Il termine wēijī (in Hanyu Pinyin, mentre è 危機 in cinese tradizionale e 危机 in cinese semplificato; Wade-Giles: wei-chi) è di frequente invocato nei discorsi motivazionali insieme all'affermazione non vera che i caratteri di cui è composta rappresentino sia il concetto di "crisi" che quello di "opportunità". “The explication of the Chinese word for crisis as made up of two components signifying danger and … These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 机, infatti, significa “opportunità” in combinazione con 会 (Huì – saper fare) ma il suo vero significato è quello di “momento cruciale”. In Latin, crisis signified: 1. a (literary) judgement, 2. Crisi in cinese La leggenda di cui parlo è quella secondo cui la parola crisi in cinese (危机 – Wéijī) significhi letteralmente “opportunità”. Concorso letterario Filippo Ivaldi VI edizione, Bianco fuori giallo dentro - i miei viaggi in Cina, Storie per grandi bambini e bambini grandi. NON è vero! Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D. Se da un lato 危 significa davvero “pericolo” e viene usato in combinazione con 险 (Xiǎn – rischio) a formare 危险 (pericoloso), dall’altro 机 ha molteplici significati e, come accade a chiunque mastichi un po’ di cinese, la difficoltà sta nel contestualizzare per ottenere il reale significato della frase. The jī of wēijī, in fact, means something like “incipient moment; crucial point (when something begins or changes).” Thus, a wēijī is indeed a genuine crisis, a dangerous moment, a time when things start to go awry. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray. Gira poi una leggenda, utilizzata ad hoc da chi da una crisi ci guadagna, per farci sentire dei poveretti piagnucolosi incapaci di reagire ai capricci di chi trucca la finanza, l’economia e tutto quel che ne consegue (nel caso tu stessi pensando ai complotti di cui si parla spesso, consiglio questo articolo). Più precisamente dovrebbe essere un composto fra “pericolo” (危) e “opportunità” (机). We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. If one wants to find a word containing the element jī that means “opportunity” (i.e., a favorable juncture of circumstances, or a good chance for advancement), one needs to look elsewhere than wēijī, which means precisely “crisis” (viz., a dangerous, critical moment). Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. http://quotationspage.com/quote/2750.html, Victor H. Mair. Insomma, la panacea per tutti gli abomini amministrativi pubblici e privati. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. https://www.sas.upenn.edu/ealc/faculty/mair.htm. *For a more comprehensive discussion, please visit Danger + Opportunity ≠ Crisis: How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray. But its use probably gained momentum in the United States after John F. Kennedy employed this trope in campaign speeches in 1959 and 1960: In his speech, Kennedy incorrectly said, “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.”. Leadership + Talent Development Advisor, Danger + Opportunity ≠ Crisis. Chauliac’s first translation gives it as Old French crise, while the second translation has Latin crisis. Translation, localization and transcreation: what’s the difference? A wēijī indicates a perilous situation when one should be especially wary. 2- nemmeno in Oriente sono felici del momento storico che stiamo affrontando, anche se una risata sotto ai baffi se la fanno volentieri. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. . It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Più precisamente dovrebbe essere un composto fra “pericolo” (危) e “opportunità” (机). Quindi: 1- crisi in cinese NON significa opportunità; Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. While it is true that wēijī does indeed mean “crisis” and that the wēi syllable of wēijī does convey the notion of “danger,” the jī syllable of wēijī most definitely does not (italics added for emphasis) signify “opportunity.”. On pinyin.info, a website about the Chinese language, Victor H. Mair, a professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, firmly corrects an American linguistic blunder that interprets the word “crisis” in Chinese as meaning both “danger” and “opportunity.”, “The explication of the Chinese word for crisis as made up of two components signifying danger and opportunity is due partly to wishful thinking, but mainly to a fundamental misunderstanding about how terms are formed in Mandarin and other Sinitic languages.” -Victor H. Mair, While this linguistic faux pas, no doubt, dates much further back, it was perhaps a speech delivered by President John F. Kennedy, in Indianapolis on April 12, 1959 that is most memorable. La leggenda di cui parlo è quella secondo cui la parola crisi in cinese (危机 – Wéijī) significhi letteralmente “opportunità”. Ci troviamo adesso in una situazione di questo tipo: un pericolo, una situazione che porterà necessariamente a dei cambiamenti, una situazione da cui qualcuno ne uscirà, qualcuno ne uscirà con le ossa rotte e qualcuno non ne uscirà affatto. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Print & PDF (Opens in new window), Danger + Opportunity ≠ Crisis: How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray, http://www.pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html, http://quotationspage.com/quote/2750.html, https://www.sas.upenn.edu/ealc/faculty/mair.htm, 10 Life Lessons from Basic SEAL Training from Admiral William H. 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