Two different languages from opposite ends of the world share something in common.
Dr. H.C. Tien decoded the Chinese and English language and discovered a link between them — that there are similar pen motions to form the letters in the two languages.
Tien said that there are only 10 strokes that a person makes with a pen to write the letters in both languages.
Tien's alphabet simplifies the Chinese language in his book, "Little Dot," so it is easier to teach children how to write Chinese characters.
He published the new 10-stroke alphabet in the book.
He is the founder of TiENSTROKES Chinese Computer Communications, 801 Glenhaven Ave.
"It helps bridge the Chinese and English languages," said project director Michael Nation, who has worked with Tien since the business opened in 1981.
Tien, who was born in China, originally created the book for his grandchildren.
His 10-stroke alphabet makes it easier for people to learn how to write Chinese characters, said MSU supply chain management sophomore David Gross, who studies Chinese at MSU.
Gross has returned to his hometown of Pigeon, Mich., to teach high school students Chinese with "Little Dot."
By using Tien's easy-to-read book, Gross simplified the Chinese language for the Pigeon students.
"It was like a children's book," said Lisa DiCamillo, principal of Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port High School. "It's very slick."
Even before "Little Dot" existed, Chinese played a part in the curriculum at the Pigeon high school.
Chinese has been taught at the high school since the mid-80s, DiCamillo said.
"It's important for students to be exposed to as many world languages as possible," DiCamillo said.
Chinese is a particularly difficult language to learn, Nation said.
In the language, there can be up to 30 homophones, which are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings.
The Chinese word "ma" could mean either horse or mother depending on the tone a person uses to say it, Gross said.
Tien said there are thousands of characters to know in order to learn Chinese, but it only takes 26 letters to learn English.
"The Chinese child must memorize 2,600 characters before he can finish elementary school," Tien said.
A college-bound Chinese student learns 5,000 characters, he said.
