Editing Scriptio continua (section)

===Chinese language===
Chinese does not encounter the problem of incorporating spaces into text because, unlike most [[writing system]]s, Chinese characters represent [[morphemes]] and not phonemes.<ref name=Moore-2001/> Chinese is therefore readable without spaces.

Western punctuation was first used in China in the 20th century as a result of interaction with Western culture.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fang |first=Angela |title=How To Use: Chinese Punctuation |url=http://blog.tutorming.com/mandarin-chinese-learning-tips/how-to-use-chinese-punctuation |access-date=2017-09-25 |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Example Chinese sentence written in various ways
|-
! Script
! Text
|-
| &nbsp;
| Beijing is in northern China; Guangzhou is in southern China.
|- 
| Normal Chinese sentence 
| {{lang|zh|北京在中国北方；广州在中国南方。}}
|-
| Without punctuation
| {{lang|zh|北京在中国北方广州在中国南方}}
|-
| With spacing
| {{lang|zh|北京 在 中国 北方；广州 在 中国 南方。}}
|-
| [[Pinyin]] transcription
| {{tlit|zh|Běijīng zài Zhōngguó běifāng; Guǎngzhōu zài Zhōngguó nánfāng.}}
|-
|}

However, sentences can still be ambiguous due to a lack of punctuation and/or word breaks. One Chinese joke<ref>{{Cite web|title=The importance of punctuation|url= https://www.csb.gov.hk/hkgcsb/ol/news/no4/page1_4.pdf|language=ch}}</ref> concerns a contract between a landlord and a poor scholar, which was written without punctuation and thus was interpreted in two different ways:

{| class="wikitable"
! Characters
! Pinyin
! English
|-
| {{lang|zh|沒魚肉也可,沒鷄鴨也可,青菜豆腐不可少,不得工钱}}
| {{tlit|zh|Méi yú ròu yě kě, méi jī yā yě kě, qīngcài dòufu bùkě shǎo, bùdé gōngqián}}
| Lacking fish and meat is acceptable; lacking chicken or duck is acceptable; vegetables and tofu must not be few; wages prohibited
|-
| {{lang|zh|沒魚,肉也可,沒鷄,鴨也可,青菜豆腐不可,少不得工钱}}
| {{tlit|zh|Méi yú, ròu yě kě, méi jī, yā yě kě, qīngcài dòufu bùkě, shàobùdé gōngqián}}
| Lacking fish, meat is acceptable; lacking chicken, duck is acceptable; vegetables and tofu must not be provided; wages mandatory
|}