Problem of hieroglyphic writing acquisition in the course of learning Chinese language in Russian-speaking pupils

The article analyses difficulties in acquisition of Chinese hieroglyphic writing by Russian pupils. The following difficulties are outlined: 1) Russian pupils are accustomed to writing as transcription of phonic aspect of a word; 2) owing to phonemic principle Russian pupils can shift from phonic to written form and Chinese language does not provide such possibility; 3) Russian-speaking pupils expect that linear combination of letters clearly determine the meaning of a word and in Chinese language there is no linear correlation between the meanings of an hieroglyph and the parts it is composed of; 4) an hieroglyph may be a complete word or a morpheme in some other words that is difficult of understanding; 5) the language context determined by the specific Chinese culture and mentality is very significant for interpretation of hieroglyphs. Overcoming of their difficulties is proposed to be based on V. V. Davydov’s developing education theory. The history of an hieroglyph should be studies from its genetic abstract substantial basis – a pictogram. Pupils should practice in Chinese language in personally significant situations, trying to understand all the language contexts that carry typical structures of language units, emerging from a pictogram meaning.

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