Buzzwords ban is 'ungeilivable'
Source: Xinhua |
December 26, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE netizens who like to create and use cyber words such as "geilivable" might find a new regulation very "ungeilivable."
The regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication this week banned the use of Chinglish buzzwords created by netizens for publishing in the Chinese language.
An unnamed official with the administration said that the regulation was aimed to purify the Chinese language.
"Geilivable," combining pinyin of Chinese characters Geili (giving strength) with the English suffix for adjectives, literally means "giving power" or "cool."
Different suffixes and prefixes are added to the word. "Hengeilivable" means "very cool," and "ungeilivable" means "dull, not cool at all."
Cyber language is popular among Chinese netizens, who have created English words to reflect social phenomena.
David Tool, a professor with the Beijing International Studies University, said it was very interesting to combine Chinese with English to create new words. "English is no longer mysterious to the Chinese people. They can use the language in a flexible way according to their own experiences," Tool said.
Language evolves
Some of these words and expressions have even been used in serious media reports.
In November, the People's Daily carried a news story with the headline "Jiangsu geilivable cultural province."
Although some netizens doubted the usage of the word, as "geilivable" is supposed to be an adjective rather than a verb, they hailed it as progress for the serious newspaper.
At the mentioning of the new regulation, netizens were not so pleased.
"The administration is totally 'ungeilivable,'" said a netizen named laoda1713.
"Language is always developing," said a columnist, Wang Pei. "It needs to be updated to absorb foreign culture and folk wisdom."
But an administration official said that, in fact, many senior staff from news media who supported the regulation were worried that years later, the younger generation would forget how to use formal Chinese expressions.
The official also pointed out that the regulation was only for publication of the Chinese language, and it only banned Chinglish words.
"The use of 'geilivable' in People's Daily is OK, so long as people see it as 'geilivable,'" the official said.
The regulation by the General Administration of Press and Publication this week banned the use of Chinglish buzzwords created by netizens for publishing in the Chinese language.
An unnamed official with the administration said that the regulation was aimed to purify the Chinese language.
"Geilivable," combining pinyin of Chinese characters Geili (giving strength) with the English suffix for adjectives, literally means "giving power" or "cool."
Different suffixes and prefixes are added to the word. "Hengeilivable" means "very cool," and "ungeilivable" means "dull, not cool at all."
Cyber language is popular among Chinese netizens, who have created English words to reflect social phenomena.
David Tool, a professor with the Beijing International Studies University, said it was very interesting to combine Chinese with English to create new words. "English is no longer mysterious to the Chinese people. They can use the language in a flexible way according to their own experiences," Tool said.
Language evolves
Some of these words and expressions have even been used in serious media reports.
In November, the People's Daily carried a news story with the headline "Jiangsu geilivable cultural province."
Although some netizens doubted the usage of the word, as "geilivable" is supposed to be an adjective rather than a verb, they hailed it as progress for the serious newspaper.
At the mentioning of the new regulation, netizens were not so pleased.
"The administration is totally 'ungeilivable,'" said a netizen named laoda1713.
"Language is always developing," said a columnist, Wang Pei. "It needs to be updated to absorb foreign culture and folk wisdom."
But an administration official said that, in fact, many senior staff from news media who supported the regulation were worried that years later, the younger generation would forget how to use formal Chinese expressions.
The official also pointed out that the regulation was only for publication of the Chinese language, and it only banned Chinglish words.
"The use of 'geilivable' in People's Daily is OK, so long as people see it as 'geilivable,'" the official said.
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