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English words 'ruining' Chinese
China National News
Monday 15th March, 2010
(ANI)
London15 (ANI): A senior Chinese translator has warned that common use of English words in everyday Chinese is ruining the language.
Huang Youyi, chairman of the International Federation of Translators, has criticized usage of words such as okay, bye-bye, nice, modern and guitar.
"If we do not pay attention and we do not take measures to stop Chinese mingling with English, Chinese will no longer be a pure language in a couple of years," the Telegraph quoted him as saying.
He added: "The terms DVD, MP3 and CEO are so abundant in Chinese and they are very popular. But these imported terms can cause confusion.
"In the long run, Chinese will lose its role as an independent language for communicating information and expressing human feelings.
"Some of our people think that using foreign words is a sign of being open-minded and international. I do not think so.
"Instead, we should have confidence in our own language. You cannot expect others to respect you unless you respect yourself."
However, Gu Yuego, a researcher at the Institute of Linguistics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, does not agree to Youyi's argument.
He said: "If we cleaned out all the borrowed words, less than half of modern Chinese will be left.
"Borrowing words from other languages is a global phenomenon. It is a positive sign of cultural exchange and assimilation. There is no way that China can close the door on this."
China allows only 20 foreign films to be screened in cinemas each year.
Also, websites, including Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, have been banned. (ANI)
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Comments on this story
| By fish, 03-15-10, 06:20 PM |
English words 'ruining' ChineseStart with taking out '.com' and that cannot be done. Awareness of one’s identity and ethnic characteristics is good, but a happy medium is also needed to be struck to integrate and to co-exist with others. Key is choice of what, with who, being selective whenever possible, having the wisdom to sort the elements out and having a feasible system to filter them. It is a delicate balance. |
| By yang lao, 03-16-10, 02:21 AM |
languagethe only language people want to learn is tht one that brings them prosperity. if learning swahili makes you rich, everybody would pick up that language. |
| By M. Rad., 03-22-10, 09:04 PM |
汉子 ruining ChineseIt is rather amusing to hear an academic defend a language that, whatever its other merits, has already been thoroughly ruined by a haphazard writing system.
The window of opportunity for Chinese to be a language of global commerce had already passed in the 1950’s when the Chinese education establishment chose simplified hanzi over pinyin. There is absolutely no way the rest of the world will become literate in Chinese, and it is not likely the Chinese themselves will continue to master hanzi, at the expense of thousands of pupil hours, once the advance of technology makes pocket-sized computerized camera/readers affordable. Chinese writing will fall to the creative detruction of global free trade, and I suspect the host, spoken Chinese, will die with it.
And good riddance. The hurdle of literacy is one of greatest forces impeding prosperity of the Chinese people. |
| By M. Rad., 03-22-10, 09:08 PM |
oopsThat should be æ±åï¼ not æ±åï¼ but then that rather proves my point... |
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