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Chinese dictionary draws fire over English words
By Li Qian |
August 29, 2012, Wednesday
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Online Edition
Online Edition
MORE than 100 Chinese scholars wrote a protest letter to authorities yesterday, claiming it is illegal to include English words in the latest edition of a Chinese dictionary.
The Beijing-based Commercial Press added 239 English words, like NBA and WTO, to its sixth edition of Modern Chinese Dictionary. It violated the laws on standardization of Chinese language and publishing, claimed the letter addressed to the General Administration of Press and Publication and the National Language Committee.
Li Minsheng, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the practice of replacing Chinese characters with English words will have a long-term negative influence on the Chinese language, Beijing News reported today.
It is okay to absorb some foreign words, but we need to translate them into Chinese rather than use them directly, said Fu Zhenguo, another scholar who organized the activity.
"If we allow these English words in the Chinese dictionary, part of our language will turn into English in the future," he said.
"English never absorbed Chinese characters, instead, it changed them into alphabets based on Chinese pronunciations," he added.
Officials in the two government agencies said they hadn't received the letter, the paper said.
The Beijing-based Commercial Press added 239 English words, like NBA and WTO, to its sixth edition of Modern Chinese Dictionary. It violated the laws on standardization of Chinese language and publishing, claimed the letter addressed to the General Administration of Press and Publication and the National Language Committee.
Li Minsheng, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the practice of replacing Chinese characters with English words will have a long-term negative influence on the Chinese language, Beijing News reported today.
It is okay to absorb some foreign words, but we need to translate them into Chinese rather than use them directly, said Fu Zhenguo, another scholar who organized the activity.
"If we allow these English words in the Chinese dictionary, part of our language will turn into English in the future," he said.
"English never absorbed Chinese characters, instead, it changed them into alphabets based on Chinese pronunciations," he added.
Officials in the two government agencies said they hadn't received the letter, the paper said.
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