Grammar: For Humans and Computers Alike

Wednesday mornings is our HSK class. HSK stands for 汉语水平考试 (hàn yǔ shuǐ píng kǎo shì) - this is essentially a standardized test of a foreigner's skill level in the Chinese language (kind of like the TOEFL tests for the English level of foreigners in the States). A lot of people take the HSK if they are interested in getting a job here.

Our class has many college students from Korea who are studying abroad here, and part of their requirement is to take (and do well on) the HSK. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to take the HSK, and even if I did... it'll probably be 2 years down the road.

Nonetheless, there is a Wednesday morning HSK-prep class that is built into our semester schedule. Though required for the Korean students, it is optional for us. Today, we decided to sit in on the first day of class.

Today's class was all about Chinese grammar. Simple sentences (single clause) versus complex sentences (multiple clauses). Structures within sentences (i.e. subject, predicate, direct objects, indirect objects). Types of words (i.e. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, helper words, conjunctions, prepositions, and even onomatopoeia).

After sitting in on this class, I have decided that... I love grammar. It so appeals to the engineering computer nerd in me. Computer languages are all about tokens and rules and syntax and grammar. You cannot write programs without following a strict set of grammar rules... it's the only way to tell a computer clearly what you want it to do.

Human languages are the same way. Sure, there is some more fluidity, and people are better able to improvise and be flexible and "figure out what you mean" even if you don't say it in a grammatically correct fashion. But at the very core of any human language is a set of grammar rules which we all generally follow (albeit loosely at times).

So, if you want to communicate (more clearly, and without having to force your listener to interpret - and possibly misinterpret - what you're trying to communicate)... learn grammar.

The jury is still out on whether I will attend this optional HSK-prep grammar class every week. But if it's as helpful fun as it was this morning, then I probably will.