When to use periods?

[JakeBarrington]

Is it the same as english? Do you even need them?

初学者学习中文。

vs

​

初学者学习中文

Is this correct?

初学者学习中文。我需要你的帮助，我的整个过程。

I was reading a blog and he only puts them at the end of a paragraph.

[Lu]

You need a period at the end of a sentence in Chinese, just as in English. Some Chinese writers tend to write very long sentences, which would result in fewer periods. Perhaps this is what the writer of the blog you mention does? Classical Chinese did not have punctuation, but in modern Chinese, you need it.

[anonymoose]

Some people just write sloppily, especially on blogs. Look at a chinese book or a news website for comparison.

[edelweis]

yes, when I receive emails in Chinese there's often no period at the end of sentences.

Often my correspondants use smilies, ~ signs (what does it mean?), spaces, or just hit enter.

But in novels, there's always 。(or ！，？ and so on）

[imron]

~ is typically elongation of the last sound, e.g. 啊～～ is like aaaaaaaaa.

[Olle Linge]

I think the real problem is that it's notoriously difficult to define what a sentence is in Chinese and therefore it's also very hard to know when there should be a full stop (apart from when a paragraph ends, obviously, but that can generate some very, very long sentences). My linguistics professor said that the concept of "sentence" in Chinese is one of those that grow more and more confused and complicated the more you look into it and if you really dive in, you'll never come out. In short, though, it's a lot more flexible than in English and therefore the are no absolutely clear rules on when to use full stop either.

~ is typically elongation of the last sound, e.g. 啊～～ is like aaaaaaaaa.

Indeed it is, but I'd like to point out that it's not always the case. Some people use ~ instead of other punctuation marks, especially when chatting online, meaning that they use them consistently throughout a conversation. For instance:

彼此彼此~大考大玩~小考小玩~不考不能玩~

Now, this could all be elongations in theory, but this particular friend does this for every single sentence and I'm quite sure it's not elongation she intends to convey, but rather some kind of punctuation.

I've also noticed that some people use spaces instead of commas and full stops. I can't find a good example of this right now, though.

[edelweis]

any kind of Chinese forum will often have a mixture of posts with different punctuation styles...

for instance

http://www.douban.com/group/topic/34811783/

(if the login/register screen appears, just close it in the upper right corner)

the 2 first posters use conventional 。？！punctuation,

then "Folie a Deux" uses the enter key and the odd ~

嘲风 uses spaces

安。宁。 seems to be fond of numbers of 。 and occasionally ~

thanks Imron and Snigel, ~~ does seem to be used especially with 啊 or in place of 啊/呀 but not always...

[Lu]

I think the real problem is that it's notoriously difficult to define what a sentence is in Chinese and therefore it's also very hard to know when there should be a full stop (apart from when a paragraph ends, obviously, but that can generate some very, very long sentences).

This sometimes makes for somewhat breathless reading in Chinese novels. I think I'm getting used to it now, I used to notice this more. As with ancient Greek, when translating Chinese you shouldn't be afraid to add periods when that seems appropriate.

[lingo-ling]

The Chinese often write in long, rambling sentences, and comma splices (multiple complete sentences joined by commas instead of conjunctions or semicolons) are more the rule than the exception. Often, you'll only find a period at the end of a paragraph. If there's not even a period there, you're probably dealing with a lazy or sloppy writer.

[li3wei1]

You can also occasionally find periods in the middle of a sentence. Between a 因为 and a 所以, for instance.

[skylee]

You can also occasionally find periods in the middle of a sentence. Between a 因为 and a 所以, for instance.

I don't understand. Could you quote some examples?

[Hugh]

Even if it isn't 'originally Chinese', I think the 。has been a part of written Chinese for a very long time. 古文 certainly didn't have it at first - you even see certain characters used to mark the end of a sentence or chunk (or of course the actual grammar of 古文 can make it clear with 也 etc.) But for quite a while, at least one or two hundred years I think, editors have been inserting ， and 。 into 古文 texts when they write them up.

As for modern Chinese, it works exactly the same as in English - they go at the end of a sentence and leaving them out is "incorrect" (whatever that means in languages). But as Olle pointed out very accurately above, Chinese sentences have this ability to just go on and on, only needing ， to break it up when English would probably break the sentence. In the end I think it comes down to the style of the writer more than anything else, but in any case you do need to use 。 in Chinese if you want to be seen as writing "correctly".

[lingo-ling]

You can also occasionally find periods in the middle of a sentence. Between a 因为 and a 所以, for instance.

I don't understand. Could you quote some examples?

因為我對數學有興趣。所以我主修數學。

"Because I am interested in math. Therefore I am majoring in math."

[daofeishi]

因為我對數學有興趣。所以我主修數學。

That looks very idiosyncratic to me.

[lingo-ling]

(Where's the reply-with-quote button, anyway?)

The use of periods to separate dependent clauses might not be "proper" writing style, but I see it all the time in my work. I also see sentences like this:

Clause-1，因為 Clause-2，Clause-3。Often, I can't tell whether the "because" explains the reason for Clause-1 or Clause-3. Very annoying!

[imron]

(Where's the reply-with-quote button, anyway?)

There's no quote-reply button, you need to selectively choose what to quote and use quote tags (there is a toolbar button to add these to text you have typed in a reply). There is a reason for this that a forums search will reveal.

[liuzhou]

My lady friend uses periods as an excuse for all sorts of things.

I'll get me coat...

Merry Whatnot.