From the BBC:
"Why some English words are controversial in China"
Nowadays, if you eavesdrop on Chinese
people's phone conversations, it is commonplace to hear English phrases popping
up here and there, like "Okay", "Cool" and "Bye bye". In today's Chinese publications, English abbreviations and acronyms also pop
up frequently without any Chinese translations: GDP, WTO, Wifi, CEO, MBA, VIP
and the air pollutant term PM2.5 are among the most popular. This phenomenon, termed "zero translation", has sparked a fierce debate, with
the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily the latest to
join the fray. "Why is zero translation so prevalent?" screams the headline in a recent
commentary piece, citing as a bad example the text below, which considers the
merits of an open source platform. "采用了基于OpenEdX开源平台,开发了HTML5视频播放器,不再依赖国外课程播放首选的YouTube,解决了国内用户无法访问国外edX平台问题。" "Why do we have translations for Nokia and Motorola, but not for iPhone or
iPad?" ask the authors. What irritates them is the fact that these foreign terms are found not only
in newspapers and online, but in serious science journals as well. They claim that such practices damage the integrity and harmony of the
Chinese language, dilute the richness of the Chinese culture and hamper
comprehension. "How many people can understand these words?" they ask. To put this in context - the Chinese language has over the years absorbed
many foreign terms, especially English words. Early adoptions include 雷达 (leida)
for "radar", 坦克 (tanke) for "tank", and 巧克力 (qiaokeli) for "chocolate". Coca-Cola, whose Chinese rendition 可口可乐 (kekou kele) literally means "tasty
and jolly", conveys a sense of euphoria that it is often held up as the best
brand translation. Unlike the "bad example text", these words and many others have been given
Chinese characters so they blend into the Chinese language. The problem now, the commentators claim, is that English words are used
directly along with Chinese, without any translations. And there are many
reasons why. More and more Chinese people speak English and they like to switch between
Chinese and English in conversation or when they write. The internet has helped
spread English, especially in the fields of innovation and technology, while
popular US and British films and TV dramas have also played a part. The three authors of the People's Daily piece also cite worship of Western
culture and technology, the scarcity of good translators and laziness as
possible causes.
This is not the first time that attempts to purify the Chinese language have
sparked national debate. US basketball is very popular in China and "NBA" was used on TV for many
years before the authorities decided to ban it in 2010, in favour of the Chinese
rendition 美职篮 (mei zhi lan), which literally means American professional
basketball instead. This proved very controversial. In 2012, the Modern Chinese Dictionary, long
considered the authority in language use, included NBA and more than 200 other
foreign words in its new edition, and NBA made its way back on TV. Around 100 scholars then signed an open letter to the national publication
authorities, accusing the dictionary editors of violating Chinese laws and
regulations. They argued that including such English terms and abbreviations in
the Chinese dictionary would do long-term damage to the language. Not everybody agreed. The official Xinhua news agency carried a piece by
Zhang Kuixing wondering how the use of some English vocabulary in a dictionary
could be against the law if the language was legal in China.
The author argued that a dictionary should reflect usage; and since terms
such as NBA were already in common use, inclusion in the dictionary simply
reflected reality. Others said the ultimate aim of language was communication, and a language
should not shut out foreign words. A dictionary, they argued, should provide
references of language use and help readers. Fast forward to 2014 - and linguistic use has become heavily politicised
again, with People's Daily blaming "a lack of pride and confidence in one's own
culture and language, which leads to blindly worshipping anything Western". The idea would be for all foreign words to have proper Chinese translations:
experts would be able to submit their translations for public consultation and
trial use before they became official. People would even vote for their
favourite translations. There has been a sharp reaction on Chinese social media. Some have posted
long-winded Chinese passages to show how inconvenient it would be to dispense
with the English usage. Others have questioned the point in learning foreign languages if they are
not put to good use. There has even been a suggestion that the title of Chinese state television,
CCTV, should be banned. It is, after all, an English abbreviation. This looks like the start of a long battle.
^ I do not believe that "brand" names like: "Nokia," "McDonalds," "NBA," etc should be translated into any language, but foreign words like: "weekend," "computer," etc should be as they are not proper names. I know that in Russia they follow my way on thinking for the most part (although many foreign businesses include the brand name and the translated equivalent.) I remember seeing the Golden Arches and seeing "McDonald's" in English and then also "Макдо́налдс" in Cyrillic. Of course that isn't a great translation because it translates McDonald's as MacDonalds and that is a separate name (Mc vs Mac - just ask anyone in Scotland.) I also know that the Language Police of Quebec Province did to go after companies like "Dunkin' Doughnuts" and "McDonald's" to take off the ' from their signs and that is just dumb because, as I already said, it is a brand name. ^
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-27216910
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