Chinglish: China and the English language

Posted by Alex on March 17, 2010 under Language Study | Be the First to Comment

As China has begun to allow more Western culture to flow in, senior government officials are struggling to keep English words out of Chinese vocabulary, reported the London Telegraph. On Monday, Huang Youyi, chairman of the International Federation of Translators, stated: “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.”

English words have recently become popular in China, especially slang and words related to technology and pop culture, such as “DVD,” “bye-bye,” and “guitar.” The rise in popularity of English words is mirrored in the increasing popularity of Western movies, television shows, and music. More students are opting to study English, because, according to Mr. Huang, of a desire to seem more international and cosmopolitan.

Of course, the incorporation of ‘loanwords,’ or words adopted from one language into another, is hardly a new phenomenon. The influences of Latin, French, and German on the English language over the past 800 years is what makes Beowulf unreadable to modern speakers. An interesting discussion of the strong influences of other languages on English can be found here.

This is not a comfort to Mr. Huang, who recently began a campaign to limit Western pop culture in China, and thereby limit English words in the Chinese language. Without these measures, he fears for the future of the language: “In the long run, Chinese will lose its role as an independent language for communicating information and expressing human feelings,” said Mr Huang.

However, the English language may have reason to fear the same from Chinese. According to an article in Wired printed shortly before the Beijing Olympics, the form of English spoken in China is becoming another language, barely understandable to native English speakers. With a lack of native speakers in China, the language children learn in school will begin to adopt Chinese grammar and pronunciation, and even tone-based meanings. Soon, Chinglish may be a language all its own.