The most memorable academic assignment I’ve completed is my AP English Language and Composition essay on the difference between Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters and their use in the international community. The assignment was to write a persuasive essay of the topic of our choice. Since this is an issue that is very important to me, I decided to write about the two Chinese scripts and what the benefits of learning each are, focusing on the benefits of Traditional Chinese characters.
Although my opinion did not change completely upon finishing the essay, I did become a more understanding and thoughtful individual: rather than immediately frowning upon those who use Simplified characters, I take the time to understand why an individual chose to write in Simplified characters and how that helps said individual use Chinese in daily life. Through my writing, I realized that each set of characters has a set of advantages and disadvantages to learning it, and that certain entities prefer using one over the other for a very specific reason. However, I do have some questions that I would like to investigate. Why it is so difficult for both of these scripts to coexist in Chinese speaking countries? What are the political, social, and educational aspects associated with each script? How can each script benefit to international business ambitions? Why does Taiwan have a higher literacy rate than China? Why are Chinese people so opposed to Traditional characters? How can we encourage non-native Chinese speakers to study Traditional characters, or to even study both scripts? And finally, how can we love without a heart?
