SouthAfricanchildrenwriteChinesecharacterswithtraditionalbrushpensataneventheldattheChineseEmbassyinSouthAfricaChinesepinyin,thecommonlyusedsystemforRomanizingstandardChinese,isaspecialformofthelanguage.ComparedwithChinesecharacters,pinyinboastsanadvantageintheprocessofspreadingChineseculturearoundtheworld.AndtherecentyearshavewitnessedagrowingnumberofChinesewordsenteringtheEnglishlanguageintheirpinyinform.However,therewaspreviouslyanabsenceofresearchontheimpactofChineselanguageonEnglishbyanyauthoritativeinstitution.Inlightofthis,theAcademyofContemporaryChinaandWorldStudies(ACCWS),undertheChinaInternationalPublishingGroup(CIPG),conductedasurveytofindoutjusthowwellChineseisrecognizedoutsideofChina.
ThereportwasreleasedonFebruary17,revealingthemostrecognizedChinesewordsoverseas,andthatChinesewordsareincreasinglybeingusedinthepinyinformasnativeEnglish-speakersaredevelopinganunderstandingofthesewords.
Accordingtothereport,wordsrelatedtoculturemakeupamajorityofthe100mostrecognizedChinesewords,includingtraditionalChinesefestivalssuchaschunjie(theSpringFestival)andchongyang(theDoubleNinthFestival).ParticularlystrikingisthatsomeChinesewordsthatusedtobetranslatedintoEnglisharenowentirelyreplacedbythepinyin.Takepandaforexample,thiscuteanimalisnownotonlyknownbyitsEnglishname,butalsoasxiongmao,itsChinesename.Anotherexampleisjiaozi,longknownas“dumpling”inthelexiconofEnglishspeakers,butnowadays,thepinyintermjiaoziismoreoftenusedbyforeigners.ThelatestinstallmentoftheOxfordEnglishDictionaryevencountsjiaoziamongitsexhaustivelistofEnglishvocabulary.
AccordingtoCIPG,thesurveysoughttofigureouthowwellChinesewordsarerecognizedinEnglish-speakingcountriesandchartthefuturedevelopmentofthelanguageabroad.ThesurveywasconductedineightEnglish-speakingcountries,includingtheUnitedStates,theUnitedKingdom,Australia,thePhilippines,SouthAfrica,Canada,SingaporeandIndia.NotonlydidtheresultssuggestthatagrowingnumberofChinesewordsareenteringtheEnglishlanguageintheformofpinyin,butitalsoindicatedthatthereisrisingunderstandingofChinesewordsamongforeigners.
Thesurveyalsorevealsthatsincethe18thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC),politicalphrasessuchaszhongguomeng(theChinesedream),yidaiyilu(theBeltandRoadInitiative),mingyungongtongti(communitywithasharedfuture)andfanfu(anti-graft)arebetterrecognizedandunderstoodinothercountries,whichimpliesabetterrecognitionoftheroadChinaison.ThereportindicateseverstrongercommunicationandintegrationbetweentheChineseandEnglishworlds,anaturalresultofglobalization.
YangPing,DeputyDirectorofACCWS,toldChinAfricathat“Thepromotionofculturalexchangesbetweendifferentcountriesiscalledforbyglobalization,andnecessitatedbyeffortstobuildacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.”
Risinginfluence
ThelistshowsthattheuseofpinyinandChinesewordsinEnglish-speakingcountriesiscomingintofashion,implyingthatChinaisattractingmoreandmoreattentionfromthewiderworld.
Thepopularityofculture-relatedwords,suchaskongzi(Confucius),shaolin(fromtheShaolinTemple)andgongfu(kungfu),indicatesthatChinesetraditionalfestivals,ancientphilosophiesandtraditionalfoodsaregrowinginimpactaroundtheworld,andthatChinesewaysofliving,thinkingandspeakingarealsoinfluencingthelivesofpeopleinothercountries.
“Notonlyareweseeingariseinwordsrelatedtoculture,butconceptsfromChina’sscienceandtechnology,economyandpoliticsarealsobeingabsorbedintothepoolofChinesewordsusedinothercountriesintheformofpinyin,”saidWangGangyi,VicePresidentofCIPG.
ZhengYongnian,DirectoroftheEastAsianInstituteoftheNationalUniversityofSingapore,saidinaninterviewwithChinaCentralTelevisionthat,inthepast,forordinarypeopleinmanycountries,Chinawasjustaconcept,butnowthattheyhavemoreexchangesintheformoftrade,investment,tourism,andsoon,learningChineseandusingthelanguagecanboosttheirpersonalprospects.Chinaisnowpartofpeople’severydaylives.
Economyinthespotlight
AnotherinterestingdiscoverymadebythesurveyisthatChina’seconomicandscientificandtechnologicaldevelopmentisenrichingtheworld’sglossaries.Atotalof15associatedwordsfoundaplaceonthetop-100list,withyuanandrenminbi(RMB)inthetop10aswellasbeingincorporatedintotheOxfordEnglishDictionary.
Newwords,likezhifubao(Alipay),hongbao(redenvelope)andwanggou(onlineshopping),whichhaveemergedasaresultofburgeoningonlinepaymenttechnologies,areparticularlywell-recognizedamongyoungergenerations.Namesandwordsfromtheworldofscienceandtechnologylikegaotie(high-speedrailway)alsofeaturedonthelist.
Fortheeconomy,renminbi,yuanandyanghang(theCentralBank)werethemostrecognized.ThisphenomenonisrelatedtotheongoinginternationalizationofrenminbiandhintsattheexpandingglobalinfluenceoftheChineseeconomy,withbothrenminbiandyuannowcommonplaceintheEnglish-languagemedia.
AccordingtotheGlobalLanguageMonitor,since1994,ChineseloanwordsintheEnglishlanguagehaveoutnumberedallotherlanguages.Itisthecountry’srisinginternationalstatusthathassocontributedtoitspopularity.Currently,morethan60countriesandregionsincludingSingaporeandRussiaareadoptingtheyuanasaforeignreservecurrency.WanggouandzhifubaoaresowellrecognizedbecauseofChina’sboomingInterneteconomy,builtupone-commerceandmobilepayment.
Althoughthepinyinphrasezhongguozhizaocameinat79thonthelist,itsEnglishtranslation,MadeinChina,isinstantlyrecognizabletomanyworldwide.Inthepast,itwasaphrasecharacterizedbyquantityandlowprices,buttoday,thephraseistakingonanewmeaning,onebuiltoninnovationandcreativitythatisredefiningMadeinChinaaroundtheworld.
“The13thFive-YearPlan”alsomadeitswayontothelist,asignthattheworldislookingtonewopportunitiesfromChina.
“China’seconomicandtechnologicalprogressischangingtheappearanceofChinainthemindsofpeoplearoundtheworld.WorldlanguagesareopentowordsbornofChineseeconomicandtechnologicalinnovations.NotonlyshouldChinakeepcontributingwordstootherlanguages,butitshouldalsoactasafrontrunnerintheinnovationofsuchwordsforthegoodoftheworld,”saidYang.
Commentsto
Thepromotionofculturalexchangesbetweendifferentcountriesiscalledforbyglobalization,andnecessitatedbyeffortstobuildacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.
YangPingDeputyDirectorofACCWS
DATA
Top10MostRecognizedChineseWordsinEnglishSpeakingCountries
1、Shaolin2、YinYang3、Yuan4、TheForbiddenCity5、Nihao6、Wushu(martialarts)7、Qi8、Qigong9、Renminbi10、Mahjong
Source:THEACADEMYOFCONTEMPORARYCHINAANDWORLDSTUDIESUNDERTHECHINAINTERNATIONALPUBLISHINGGROUP