Wenlin Software for learning Chinese
Encyclopedia
Wenlin Software for Learning Chinese is a software application
designed by Tom Bishop, based on his experience of the needs of learners of the Chinese language
, predominantly Mandarin. It contains a dictionary function as well as a text reader/writer function for reading and creating Chinese text files. Flashcards of new characters can also be compiled to aid in learning. By pointing the cursor at a Chinese character the software looks up an English word, and vice versa, working like a dictionary. If a word is selected out of context this "could be extremely misleading for Chinese language students"http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/learn_online/wenlin.htm (note however that this review is rather dated and may not apply to the current version). The Wenlin software can recognize files in Unicode
, GB 2312
, Big5
, and HZ
format.
, stroke count, frequency, components, or Unicode. It also displays lists of words by pinyin, frequency, and serial number. English words can be displayed alphabetically, as well as the 214 radicals of the Chinese language.
It is marketed by the Wenlin Institute, a commercial software company run by Tom Bishop. The current version is 4.0.2 (April 22, 2011), and a free demonstration version of the old version (3.4.1) with a very small dictionary is available for download. This version supports several functions such as stroke order
, ordering characters by different criteria (stroke order, radical
, number of strokes), audio files of characters being pronounced, and the identification of drawn characters.
Version 3 runs on all versions of Microsoft Windows
, as well as Mac OS X
and Mac OS 9
. As of August 2005, the company is working on a Java version.
Version 4 requires Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP and Apple Mac OS X for Intel (10.4 through 10.6). For Mac OS X, Intel processor only (not PowerPC) machines are supported.
Wenlin runs on Linux using Wine, but no official support is available yet.
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
designed by Tom Bishop, based on his experience of the needs of learners of the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, predominantly Mandarin. It contains a dictionary function as well as a text reader/writer function for reading and creating Chinese text files. Flashcards of new characters can also be compiled to aid in learning. By pointing the cursor at a Chinese character the software looks up an English word, and vice versa, working like a dictionary. If a word is selected out of context this "could be extremely misleading for Chinese language students"http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/learn_online/wenlin.htm (note however that this review is rather dated and may not apply to the current version). The Wenlin software can recognize files in Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, GB 2312
GB 2312
GB2312 is the registered internet name for a key official character set of the People's Republic of China, used for simplified Chinese characters...
, Big5
Big5
Big-5 or Big5 is a character encoding method used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau for Traditional Chinese characters.Mainland China, which uses Simplified Chinese Characters, uses the GB instead.- Organization :...
, and HZ
HZ
Hz is the International Standard symbol for Hertz, the unit of frequencyHZ may also stand for:* Habitable zone, the distance from a star where a planet can maintain Earth-like life* Hamilton Zoo, in New Zealand...
format.
List Function
The software allows the user to display lists of Chinese characters ordered by pinyinPinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
, stroke count, frequency, components, or Unicode. It also displays lists of words by pinyin, frequency, and serial number. English words can be displayed alphabetically, as well as the 214 radicals of the Chinese language.
Dictionary Function
The dictionary function allows the user to input Chinese characters or pinyin (including the phonetic marking) to search. The user can also highlight words in a text and search for them in the dictionary. Wenlin has its own built-in dictionaries, but user-created dictionaries can be uploaded into the software.Current Version and Compatibility
It is marketed by the Wenlin Institute, a commercial software company run by Tom Bishop. The current version is 4.0.2 (April 22, 2011), and a free demonstration version of the old version (3.4.1) with a very small dictionary is available for download. This version supports several functions such as stroke order
Stroke order
Stroke order refers to the order in which the strokes of a Chinese character are written. A stroke is a movement of a writing instrument on a writing surface. Chinese characters are used in various forms in Chinese, Japanese, and in Korean...
, ordering characters by different criteria (stroke order, radical
Radical (Chinese character)
A Chinese radical is a component of a Chinese character. The term may variously refer to the original semantic element of a character, or to any semantic element, or, loosely, to any element whatever its origin or purpose...
, number of strokes), audio files of characters being pronounced, and the identification of drawn characters.
Version 3 runs on all versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, as well as Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
. As of August 2005, the company is working on a Java version.
Version 4 requires Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP and Apple Mac OS X for Intel (10.4 through 10.6). For Mac OS X, Intel processor only (not PowerPC) machines are supported.
Wenlin runs on Linux using Wine, but no official support is available yet.
External links
- The New ABC English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary
- Wenlin Institute: Software for Learning Chinese, official web site
- Running Wenlin (version 3) on Linux
Reviews
- Pinyin News entry for Wenlin 4.0
- SinoSplice Wenlin 4 review
- Screencast: Wenlin helps you read Chinese, review of Wenlin 3.3.6 by Stian Håklev
- Wenlin 3.0 review by CALICO (Computer-Assisted Language Instruction Consortium), CALICO Journal, Volume 21 Number 2, pp. 441-448
- Wenlin 文林, review of Wenlin 1.0 by Cecilia P. Y. Chu (UC BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
), note that this review is dated and may not apply to the current version - CALL for Chinese: Issues and Practice, article (2002 JCLTA 37.2:1-58) by Zheng-sheng Zhang (San Diego State UniversitySan Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
), reviews and compares 10 programs including Wenlin 1.0