China to crack down on misuse of language

By Mary Kwang, The Straits Times, 17 November 2000

A new law comes into effect on Jan 1 next year to block intrusion of foreign words and targets people in Guangzhou who speak Cantonese

GUANGZHOU -- A new language law to be introduced next year aims to block the intrusion of foreign words and the misuse of the Chinese language, both written and spoken.

It especially targets the Cantonese-speaking people in Guangzhou, because China's open-door policy has led to an influx of Hongkong culture in the region.

One of Guangdong's most popular dailies, the Yangzhou Evening News, lapses occasionally in using Cantonese after the style of Hongkong newspapers.

Terms like sai mui (little sister) and zong yi (like) appear in its articles, even in the headlines.

While the newspaper endears itself, through the use of the vernacular, it is the use of such non-standard Chinese which is the target of the new language law enacted two weeks ago.

The law, which takes effect on Jan 1 next year, is intended to standardise language use across the nation, including preventing encroachment by the country's many dialects.

China's economic reforms of the last 20 years have brought in their wake popular Hongkong and other foreign expressions that in their turn were borrowed from the English language, such as friend and call.

People in the Pearl River Delta, in cities like Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen and Zhongshan, are adopting such vocabulary.

Hongkong's influence over the region is very strong.

Residents here flick onto the territory's television stations. Businessmen and relatives from Hongkong visit the region in huge numbers.

Even the shops, hotels and restaurants insist on payment in Hongkong dollars rather than the Chinese yuan.

With the open-door policy, the writing of complex Chinese characters as is used in Hongkong and Taiwan is also creeping back to China.

Apart from the entertainment field, the foreign words or expressions are most noticeable in such sectors as the stock market, which was re-opened in China in 1990, and on the Internet, which began to be used more widely here in 1994.

Some alien terms used are phonetic equivalents of the foreign word such as ku (cool or great), bibi (baby) or kai-shi-mi (cashmere).

Others are literal translations from the foreign language, such as the stock market dived (in Chinese, the stock market tiao shui -- plunged into the water).

A couple of years ago, several imported telephone kiosks were installed in Beijing. Many residents, however, could not use the telephones as the instructions were in English.

Similarly, many elevators in buildings here are American-made and many Chinese are unable to read Door Close and Door Open buttons.

Mr Lu Ganqi, a vice-director of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People's Congress, told The Straits Times that language misuse in the country had become more rampant in recent years.

Each year since 1990, the NPC had received many proposals from delegates. They argued the need for language rules.

Mr Lu was quick to point out that the proposed law was not aimed at eradicating local dialects and minority languages.

He also said that some new-economy vocabulary like yi-mei-er (e-mail) and yintewang (Internet) would become accepted terms.

A popular non-standard Putonghua passage:

Li Xiaoming dadi home after attending a luyan on the latest stock offering. He surfed the yintewang, dang some files from it and read his yi-mei-er.

He turned down an invitation to a di-si-ke that evening as he wanted to ready himself for the tuofu. He was ravenous as he had only a hanbaobao for lunch. His dinner was a takeaway pisa and a pai, which he washed down with ke-kou-ke-le. He watched a television tuo-kou-xiu. He fell asleep in the middle of a sa-ke-si-feng segment.

What it really means:

Li Xiaoming caught a taxi home after attending a roadshow on the latest stock offering. He surfed the Internet, downloaded some files from it and read his e-mail.

He turned down an invitation to a discotheque that evening as he wanted to ready himself for the Toefl. He was ravenous as he had only a hamburger for lunch. His dinner was a takeaway pizza and a pie, which he washed down with Coca Cola. He watched a television talkshow. He fell asleep in the middle of a saxophone segment.