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Folly of tinkering with Chinese and sprinkling in English words
By Lao Wu |
December 27, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AS an English teacher, I hail the recent issuance of an official circular discouraging undue or irregular use - in many cases even coinage - of foreign words, phrases or abbreviations in Chinese media.
A flourishing Internet may be a boon for creative minds, but unregulated cyberspace is creating problems.
Taking advantage of ampler freedom on the Internet and technical difficulty in oversight and regulation, some indulge themselves in producing and disseminating cheesy or even obscene content.
Some netizens, young ones in particular, rather than apply their imagination to meaningful and valuable creativity, take pleasure in invention of words or phrases of little meaning. Among others, "geliable" and its antonym "ungeliable," touted by some as clever equivalents of Chinese cyber coinage geili (to empower), are the best examples.
I can't figure out the point of making such words.
No native English speaker understands it, to say nothing of using it.
Another thing about which I'm uncomfortable is the prevailing habit of some people, educated ones in particular, to adorn their speech or writing in Chinese with English words.
The pretentious showing-off of one's knowledge of English originated in Hong Kong and has found its way well into the mouths of many mainland Chinese.
Languages are for practical use, not for ornament. Both Chinese and English are great and beautiful languages, evolved over a long period of time.
Our mother tongue, Chinese, featured with its unique characters, has not only nourished the splendid Chinese civilization, but also served as a vehicle to bind the Chinese nation, including 56 ethnic groups, as a whole.
Attracted by the beauty and profundity of the language, an increasing number of foreigners are taking Chinese lessons.
On the other hand, English is also important, with 95 per cent of the information online written in English.
Many Chinese have to learn English as a foreign language, but the mastery has nothing to do with superficial show.
A flourishing Internet may be a boon for creative minds, but unregulated cyberspace is creating problems.
Taking advantage of ampler freedom on the Internet and technical difficulty in oversight and regulation, some indulge themselves in producing and disseminating cheesy or even obscene content.
Some netizens, young ones in particular, rather than apply their imagination to meaningful and valuable creativity, take pleasure in invention of words or phrases of little meaning. Among others, "geliable" and its antonym "ungeliable," touted by some as clever equivalents of Chinese cyber coinage geili (to empower), are the best examples.
I can't figure out the point of making such words.
No native English speaker understands it, to say nothing of using it.
Another thing about which I'm uncomfortable is the prevailing habit of some people, educated ones in particular, to adorn their speech or writing in Chinese with English words.
The pretentious showing-off of one's knowledge of English originated in Hong Kong and has found its way well into the mouths of many mainland Chinese.
Languages are for practical use, not for ornament. Both Chinese and English are great and beautiful languages, evolved over a long period of time.
Our mother tongue, Chinese, featured with its unique characters, has not only nourished the splendid Chinese civilization, but also served as a vehicle to bind the Chinese nation, including 56 ethnic groups, as a whole.
Attracted by the beauty and profundity of the language, an increasing number of foreigners are taking Chinese lessons.
On the other hand, English is also important, with 95 per cent of the information online written in English.
Many Chinese have to learn English as a foreign language, but the mastery has nothing to do with superficial show.
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