War of words as English gets in
Source: Xinhua |
April 10, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHOULD Chinese-language TV use simple English abbreviations for some terms for the sake of simplicity? Or should it use lengthy Chinese equivalents in the name of keeping the Chinese language Chinese?
Chinese people, both ordinary viewers and linguists, are split over the matter.
A heated debate is underway on whether Chinese should use English abbreviations for terms like "NBA" and "GDP," after TV hosts were ordered to use the Chinese translations for foreign abbreviations on their programs.
The directive speaks to a concern that too many English abbreviations have mixed with Chinese and soiled the purity of the Chinese language and Chinese culture.
On the Internet, Chinese Netizens are questioning the restriction.
"Is my ID now in danger?" Netizen "unluckeyfreak13" wrote to ridicule the order in a post at the www.tianya.cn forum.
"So, we may have to use 'moving picture experts group audio layer three' to refer to the simple 'mp3'," Netizen "b828" said.
A sweeping ban on the use of English words in Chinese reveals a lack of confidence, wrote Qin Ning in a signed commentary published in yesterday's Beijing Times. The reasonable use of some English words in Chinese facilitates daily communication and cultural exchange, Qin said.
English abbreviations for specific terms like NBA are used in broadcasting for brevity, and having to use their Chinese translation will simply make the expression lengthy and clumsy, Netease Sports commentator Liu Xiao said in a commentary at www.163.com.
Qianjiang Evening News in Zhejiang Province said Sun Zhengping, a famous sports newscaster with China Central Television, confirmed he had received a notice telling the channel's newscasters to refrain from using English abbreviations for words such as NBA, GDP, CPI and WTO in their news broadcasts.
However, Sun told the newspaper such abbreviations are not completely banned, but they must be used with their Chinese translations.
Some Netizens support the authorities' order.
"I am for the restriction," Netizen "x860" said. "I don't think the elderly audience, especially those living in rural areas, can understand the exact meaning of CPI."
"In China, it would be better to make Chinese language comprehensible to all the Chinese people," said Netizen "Lu Jian Bu Ping ABC."
Linguistic adjustment is not a new thing in China, and the Chinese language has always been open to innovation to keep its vitality, Peking University's Professor Zhang Yiwu said in a telephone interview.
Many words in the modern Chinese language are "borrowed" from Western concepts and Japanese words, Zhang noted.
And foreign words are only adopted when they fit with Chinese culture, and so there is no need to fuss about "cultural impairment," he said.
Chinese people, both ordinary viewers and linguists, are split over the matter.
A heated debate is underway on whether Chinese should use English abbreviations for terms like "NBA" and "GDP," after TV hosts were ordered to use the Chinese translations for foreign abbreviations on their programs.
The directive speaks to a concern that too many English abbreviations have mixed with Chinese and soiled the purity of the Chinese language and Chinese culture.
On the Internet, Chinese Netizens are questioning the restriction.
"Is my ID now in danger?" Netizen "unluckeyfreak13" wrote to ridicule the order in a post at the www.tianya.cn forum.
"So, we may have to use 'moving picture experts group audio layer three' to refer to the simple 'mp3'," Netizen "b828" said.
A sweeping ban on the use of English words in Chinese reveals a lack of confidence, wrote Qin Ning in a signed commentary published in yesterday's Beijing Times. The reasonable use of some English words in Chinese facilitates daily communication and cultural exchange, Qin said.
English abbreviations for specific terms like NBA are used in broadcasting for brevity, and having to use their Chinese translation will simply make the expression lengthy and clumsy, Netease Sports commentator Liu Xiao said in a commentary at www.163.com.
Qianjiang Evening News in Zhejiang Province said Sun Zhengping, a famous sports newscaster with China Central Television, confirmed he had received a notice telling the channel's newscasters to refrain from using English abbreviations for words such as NBA, GDP, CPI and WTO in their news broadcasts.
However, Sun told the newspaper such abbreviations are not completely banned, but they must be used with their Chinese translations.
Some Netizens support the authorities' order.
"I am for the restriction," Netizen "x860" said. "I don't think the elderly audience, especially those living in rural areas, can understand the exact meaning of CPI."
"In China, it would be better to make Chinese language comprehensible to all the Chinese people," said Netizen "Lu Jian Bu Ping ABC."
Linguistic adjustment is not a new thing in China, and the Chinese language has always been open to innovation to keep its vitality, Peking University's Professor Zhang Yiwu said in a telephone interview.
Many words in the modern Chinese language are "borrowed" from Western concepts and Japanese words, Zhang noted.
And foreign words are only adopted when they fit with Chinese culture, and so there is no need to fuss about "cultural impairment," he said.
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