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Language Log
The beauty of open access
Just published is a volume edited by David Holm, Vernacular Chinese-Character Manuscripts from East and Southeast Asia (De Gruyter), in their Studies in Manuscript Cultures series.
Now available open access at the De Gruyter website.
The book has chapters on Hokkien, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Yao, Zhuang, and other Tai-speakers who use Chinese-based vernacular scripts.
Previously announced on Language Log here.
It is always cause for celebration when a significant book on a specialized research topic is made available open access. The same is true of Jeffrey Kotyk's Sino-Iranian and Sino-Arabian Relations in Late Antiquity: China and the Parthians, Sasanians, and Arabs in the First Millennium, which I had previously announced here, and is now available open access at the Brill website here.
Selected readings
* "Bahasa and the concept of 'National Language'" (3/14/13)
* "A hidden minority revealed" (1/29/22) — Zhuang
* "Katratripulr" (5/6/22)
* "The geo-, socio-, ethno-, and politicolinguistics of Taiwan" (7/24/18)
* "Thai 'khwan' ('soul') and Old Sinitic reconstructions" (1/28/19)
* "Two-fifths of the people in Vietnam have the surname Nguyen. Why?" (1/18/20) — with extensive bibliography
* "Words in Vietnamese" (10/2/18)
David Holm, "'Crossing the Seas': Indic Ritual Templates and the Shamanic Substratum in Eastern Asia", Sino-Platonic Papers, 281 (September, 2018), 1-75.
Jeffrey Kotyk, "The Sinicization of Indo-Iranian Astrology in Medieval China", Sino-Platonic Papers, 282 (September, 2018), 1-95.
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Phrasal Verb of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
take over (2)
to begin doing a job or a task that someone else had been doing previously
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Word of the Day
facet
Definition: (noun) A distinct feature or element in a problem.
Synonyms: aspect.
Usage: He carefully studied every facet of the question before offering his response.
Discuss
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those globally very active bilingual Chinese speakers, PUA goes in two directions to influence monolingual Chinese speakers who accept, use, and adapt it as a nativized Mandarin word. In the other direction, the Sinicized PUA seeps into the language of bilingual speakers of English like me, and thence into the speech of monolingual English speakers with whom the bilingual English speakers are in contact.
PUA is just one such term derived from English that I learned about from Chinese speakers. Another English initialism that I learned from Chinese speakers is VPN, but there are countless other such English > Chinese > English expressions. Ditto for English > Japanese > English. For a mind-boggling/blowing example of this sort of linguistic-cultural back-and-forth between languages, consider the case of karaoke.
This process of multi-directional language exchange is going on at a rapid pace and on a massive scale, enhanced by the ubiquity of the global internet. China Babel, that unpublished novel I wrote decades ago, is not a distant dream. Selected readings
* "The Englishization of Chinese enters a new phase" — especially this comment on the nature of "P" in Chinese
* "Old, new, and mixed Cantonese colloquialisms" (8/29/24) — contra "slang"
* "New expressions for karaoke: the phoneticization of Chinese" (9/25/21)
* "China Babel" (3/26/24)
* "New expressions for karaoke: the phoneticization of Chinese" (9/25/21)
* "China VPN redux" (7/17/24) — with lengthy bibliography
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Learn English Through Football Podcast: Going to the Match
Читать полностью…
Slang of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
pig (2)
a police officer
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Idiom of the Day
be left to (one's) own devices
To be left unsupervised or uncontrolled; to be allowed to do as one pleases. Watch the video
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
@AlienReese for Poet Laureate 🏆 #dnc #kamalaharris #impression
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
@TheKalenAllen Spills ALL the Tea at the DNC ☕️ #dnc #tea #focusondemocracy
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Language Log
Pitfalls of machine translation
[This is a guest post by Thomas Batchelor]
I was recently looking at a tourist bus around the Matsu Islands of Taiwan, and they have a timetable online with the route and locations for picking up passengers, as below.
[VHM: Don't trouble yourself by trying to read the fine print of the schedule itself. Just pay attention to the note about the pickup location at the bottom of the schedule, which is enlarged below the fold.]
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/~bgzimmer/beigan.png
Trying to figure out where to be picked up for the tour bus, I noticed at the bottom that the first pick up location is listed as ‘Pasir Ris Pier’. Now for anyone familiar with Taiwan, this does not sound like a Mandarin place name, let alone Hokkien or even any Indigenous languages (especially being on the Matsu Islands, which are not part of ‘Taiwan’ per se). http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/~bgzimmer/beigan2.png Not being sure where this was meant to be, I looked up the name, and it turns out to be a district in Singapore. The district of Singapore uses the Malay name, Pasir Ris, as its ‘English’ name as well. I then noticed that the Mandarin name for the district in Singapore happens to be Baisha 白沙. And what happens to be the name of a harbour with ferries and a small bus stop in the Matsu Islands? Baisha Harbour 白沙港.
It seems like someone put the original Mandarin timetable through a machine translator or AI, which found that the ‘English’ name for a place named 白沙 must be the most common one: Pasir Ris. This was then put into the timetable, seemingly without being checked, leaving us English-speaking tourists to be left wondering where the mystery pick up location is.
I thought this was an interesting little example of machine translation confusion! Hopefully not too many tourists have been waylaid by this mistake.
[end of guest post]
——
Good investigation by Thomas Batchelor.
Ben Zimmer added the following valuable information concerning "Pasir Ris":
There are a few different theories about the origins of "Pasir Ris," but nothing definitive. Wikipedia says:
The first reference to a village of Pasir Ris, Passier Reis (or Passier Rice), appeared in early 1800s. The second part of the city name, Ris, in Malay, means bolt rope. Pasir Ris may also mean "white sand" in Malay. Pasir Ris Town is named after the long stretch of sandy white beach along the north-east coastline of Singapore, facing Pulau Ubin.
References:
Ng Yew Peng (2018). Tay Yu Shan (ed.). What's In The Name? How The Streets And Villages In Singapore Got Their Names. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-32-2139-0. OCLC 990571127 "Pasir Ris". Retrieved 9 July 2018.
Some other sources suggest the "bolt-rope" meaning of ris in the place name relates to the narrowness of the beach. Ris does show up with that meaning in Richard James Wilkinson's A Malay English Dictionary (1901), but it is now just a historical usage.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/~bgzimmer/ris.png
The book Loan-words in Indonesian and Malay suggests that ris or aris for "bolt-rope" is based on Portuguese rizes, defined here as "lanyard, securing rope." Elsewhere rizes is given as the Portuguese equivalent of English reef meaning "a part of a sail that can be tied or rolled up to make the sail smaller in a strong wind."
None of that has anything to do with rice, apparently. (The old variant spelling of Pasir Ris as Passier Rice is likely just a Hobson-Jobsonism.) Selected readings
* "Why electronic machine translation services sometimes seem to fail" (1/29/17)
* "One's deceased father grind" (9/18/14)
* "Machine accepts reincarnation" (11/1/15)
* "Colossal translation fail at the Boao Forum for Asia" (4/13/18)
* "'Do not accept Taiwan'" (2/1/19)
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ritique of modern social dynamics. One example is 左膠 (zo2 gaau1), a term political commentators used to label the “overly leftist” or liberals.
2. 佛系 (fat6 hai6): Borrowed from the Japanese concept of “Buddha-like”, this term describes someone who is laid-back and indifferent, often in the context of a culture that values hustle and ambition. It reflects a growing counter culture among young people who are choosing to take life at a slower, more mindful pace.
3. 0 尊 (ling4 zyun1): A combination of the number zero and “respect” (尊), this term vividly captures the feeling of frustration at a lack of respect. A couple of humorous spin-offs of this expression include 樽鹽 (zeon1 jim4) literally “a bottle of salt”, but sounds like “dignity” (zyun1 jim4), and 張中和 (zoeng1 zung1 wo4) resembling a Chinese person’s name but actually sounding more like 尊重我 (zyun1 zung6 ngo5), meaning “respect me” in Cantonese but with a Mandarin accent. These are perfect examples of how Cantonese can compress complex emotions with humour across languages into creative and funny, but also succinct and powerful, expressions. Interplay of Old and New
What’s fascinating about Hong Kong Cantonese slang is how it bridges the gap between generations. While older slang offers a window into the city’s past, newer expressions reflect the current realities and challenges faced by its people. This linguistic evolution highlights Hong Kong’s ability to adapt while maintaining a deep respect for tradition. Moreover, this blend of old and new slang creates a rich tapestry of communication that is uniquely Hong Kong. It allows speakers to express themselves in ways that are culturally resonant, whether they are reminiscing about the past or commenting on the present.
In a diverse and ever-changing city, Hongkongese is more than just a means of communication; it’s a living, breathing entity that evolves alongside its people. Cantonese slang, both old and new, serves as a testament to the city’s resilience, creativity and enduring spirit.
So the next time you find yourself in a conversation with a local, try slipping in a bit of “吹水” or “佛系.” You might just discover that understanding Hong Kong’s slang opens up a whole new dimension of this extraordinary city. What is your favourite Cantonese slang? I look forward to discussing more expressive slang both old and new.
Several of the above expressions have already been covered in previous Language Log posts, for which see "Selected readings" below.
Even though the CCP would like nothing more than for the Cantonese language to disappear, and has many policies in place directed toward that end, it will not be easy for them to bring that about because of the richness of the Cantonese tradition of proverb making, together with the innate potential and natural propensity for the Cantonese people to create new expressions in their own language. Selected readings
* "'Bāphre bāph!' — my favorite Nepali expression" (8/12/18)
* "Things you can do with 'water' in Cantonese" (4/2/19)
* "The growing supinity of Chinese youth" (7/11/23)
* "'Lying flat' and 'Involution': passive-aggressive resistance" (6/4/21)
* "Buddha whatever" (2/1/19)
* "'Lying flat' and 'Buddha whatever' (part 2)" (6/24/21)
* "Eighty-one Cantonese proverbs in one picture" (2/27/14)
[Thanks to Don Keyser]
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Word of the Day
Word of the Day: avaricious
This word has appeared in six articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
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Phrasal Verb of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
run after
If you run after someone, you chase them and try to catch up with them by running.
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Word of the Day
intemperance
Definition: (noun) Excess in action and immoderate indulgence of bodily appetites, especially in passion or indulgence.
Synonyms: self-indulgence.
Usage: A slouching, moody, drunken sloven, wasted by intemperance and vice, sat on the stoop and lamented his lot in life.
Discuss
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Kamala Harris Breaks Down Bureaucracy & Beyonce at the DNC (Allison Reese's Amazing Impression)
WE MET KAMALA HARRIS! (Brought to you by Allison Reese - @AlienReese)
#kamalaharris #impression #harriswalz2024 #FocusOnDemocracy #dnc2024
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Slang of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
admin
administrator, administration, person or department that runs an organisation
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Idiom of the Day
legal eagle
An especially clever, aggressive, or skillful attorney. Watch the video
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
not good for your sole or your soul! @TheKalenAllen #DNC #FocusOnDemocracy #CreatorsForKamala
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Language Log
PUA
This is something I was going to write about in the early part of December, 2023, but got sidetracked by too many other things. Now I'm going through my e-mail clutter to clean out old messages that I had neglected to take care of back then. At that time, more than half a year ago, "PUA" was still very popular. Although speech fashions change rapidly in China, it was so viral then that I suspect it is still relevant today, so let's take a good look at it.
When I first encountered "PUA", I had no idea what it meant nor how to pronounce it (the same sort of feeling of being at sea when I initially heard "hawk tuah"), so I started looking around for what it might mean. Clearly, from the contexts in which I was hearing it, PUA was not "Pandemic Unemployment Assistance", which was a federal and state government program back in the day.
I fairly quickly came to the realization that the term "PUA" is derived from the American English phrase “pick-up artist”. Well, I'd never heard of that either, so had to educate myself about that too. Pickup artists (PUA) are people whose goals are seduction and sexual success. Predominantly heterosexual men, they often self-identify as the seduction community or the pickup community. This community exists through various channels, including internet newsletters, blogs, seminars and one-on-one coaching, forums, groups, and local clubs known as "lairs".
The rise of "seduction science", "game", or "studied charisma" has been attributed to modern forms of dating and social norms between sexes which have developed from a perceived increase in the equality of women in western society and changes to traditional gender roles. Commentators in the media have described "game" as sexist or misogynistic.
(Wikipedia)
In Chinese internet slang, the initialism's meaning is much broader: to be “brainwashed” or “deceived.” It's used in the context of relationships, family, or work, with people often “PUA-ing” themselves.
(From this Facebook post, which also has a video in Mandarin, where you can hear the word pronounced: "P-U-A", like the English letters.)
From Diana Shuheng Zhang (12/8/23):
PUA, indeed it first means pick-up artist in English. Most importantly, it is a noun. In Chinese, it means "to manipulate, to gaslight" — but more important than semantics, it can grammatically be used in Chinese both as a verb and a verbal noun. For example, in Chinese, you can say:
Wǒ de qiánfū měitiān doū yòng wǒ yǐqián de liàn'ài jīnglì PUA wǒ, suǒyǐ wǒ líhūnle.
我的前夫每天都用我以前的恋爱经历PUA我，所以我离婚了。
"My ex-husband PUA-ed (mentally manipulated / gaslighted) me everyday with my pre-marriage dating experience, therefore I divorced [him]." (verb)
Bùyào zǒng shì zéguài zìjǐ, zhè shì duì zìjǐ de PUA
不要总是责怪自己，这是对自己的PUA。
"Don't blame yourself all the time, which is equivalent to PUA-ing yourself." (verbal noun)
Since "A" stands for "artist", or a person in English, there is absolutely no way to say "X pick-up artisted Y". I believe that syntax is the biggest difference between the use of PUA in Chinese and English.
To be honest, since the word PUA is so popular in China that I use it frequently while speaking Chinese, sometimes when I want to express similar things in English, I must try hard to stop myself from using PUA directly as a verb in English and say "manipulate" instead.
This is a fascinating example of the complex interactions among different levels of different languages. We start with an English slang (!) expression, "pickup artist". That is turned into an initialism, PUA, all the while remaining a noun phrase. It is quickly picked up (!) by bilingual Chinese speakers who enthusiastically expand its grammatical and semantic scope, so that it becomes a verb with the self-referential meaning of gaslighting and manipulating, among other applications. From [...]
Word of the Day
Word of the Day: foray
This word has appeared in 217 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?
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Phrasal Verb of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
run up against
to face something that could be a problem or a difficulty
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Word of the Day
gutsy
Definition: (adjective) Marked by courage and determination in the face of difficulties or danger; robust and uninhibited.
Synonyms: plucky.
Usage: Though she lost her arm in a violent shark attack, the gutsy teen refused to abandon her dream of becoming a world-class surfer and soon returned to the water.
Discuss
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
AOC did not come to play! @TheKalenAllen #DNC #TheHungerGames #aoc
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
Kalen Allen Spills ALL the Tea at the DNC
We hung out with @TheKalenAllen at the Democratic National Convention. We got his take on content creators covering the event alongside journalists, played some fun games, and asked him to defend "earthing." He certainly did not.
#DNC #FocusOnDemocracy #CreatorsForKamala
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Language Log
Freemium worship
Today's SMBC:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/SMBC_FreemiumWorship.png
Mouseover title: "Somehow it became God week on SMBC".
(Referencing these previous strips.)
The AfterComic:
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/SMBC_FreemiumWorshipAfter.png
More and more internet content is either totally or partially pay-walled — SMBC is still free, so consider their Patreon or their merch…
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Language Log
Old, new, and mixed Cantonese colloquialisms
I dislike calling non-Standard Mandarin Sinitic language expressions "slang" (almost as much as I am dismayed when people call Sinitic topolects dialects — we've been through that countless times). Others may differ, but in my idiolect, "slang" is pejorative, and I distinguish "slang" from "argot; jargon; lingo; etc.", which — for me — denote particularization of occupation, not crudeness or cursing, although they may sometimes be associated with lower social levels. slang
1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, related to Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn (“nickname”), slengja kjeften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jaw”), related to Icelandic slengja (“to sling, throw, hurl”), Old Norse slyngva (“to sling”). Not believed to be connected with language or lingo.
(Wiktionary)
"Picking up a dead chicken (執死雞) with zero respect (0 尊): Cantonese slang old and new can compress complex emotions into funny, creative and succinct expressions", by Raymond Pai, The Hong Konger (27 August 2024)
Hong Kong is not only known for its towering skyscrapers and delicious street food but also for its rich linguistic tapestry. When asked what beginners should first learn in Cantonese, Hong Kong locals often suggest profanities 粗口 (cou1 hau2). Without discrediting the cultural and pragmatic value of curse words, I think that within the dynamic Cantonese language there lies a treasure trove of slang that reflects Hong Kong’s unique culture, historical shifts and modern-day realities, just as any language does. Whether a seasoned local or a curious newcomer, understanding Hong Kong Cantonese slang offers a deeper insight into the city’s identity.
I was recently in Kuala Lumpur for an applied linguistics conference. On a visit to one of the largest second-hand bookstores in the city, I discovered a copy of a Cantonese dictionary 廣州話方言詞典 published in the early 80s. This volume recorded many older slang usages that interestingly contrast with the trendy terms youngsters find more hip today. Let’s explore a few of the classic and popular slang terms found in Cantonese colloquialisms. Classic Cantonese Slang
1. 巴閉 (baa1 bai3): Meaning “marvellous” or “arrogant”, this phrase has both a positive meaning as a compliment, or negative connotations as it critiques a personal character. It allegedly originates from the Hindi expression of “baap re baap”, meaning “oh my goodness”. This blend of Chinese and Indian cultures is reflective of the historical multicultural nature of Hong Kong society.
2. 吹水 (ceoi1 seoi2): Literally translating as “blow water”, this phrase means to chat or engage in idle talk. In a city where socialising is a crucial aspect of life, this slang reflects the importance of communication and community. It is often used in a light-hearted context, suggesting a casual conversation without much depth.
3. 執死雞 (zap1 sei2 gai1): Literally “pick up a dead chicken”, this idiom is used to describe seizing an opportunity when someone else fails or makes a mistake. In the competitive atmosphere of Hong Kong, this phrase embodies the city’s pragmatic and opportunistic spirit.
This timeless slang is still very much alive in the lexicon of older generations and is sometimes heard in the daily chatter of younger Hong Kongers, especially in contexts that evoke nostalgia or a connection to the city’s cultural roots. Newly Evolved Slang
1. 膠 (gaau1): Originally meaning “plastic”, this term has taken on new life in recent years to describe something or someone that is fake, foolish or over the top. In the digital age in which online personas and superficiality can sometimes overshadow authenticity, 膠 is a fitting c[...]
Slang of the Day | Vocabulary | EnglishClub
kisser
the mouth
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Idiom of the Day
be left (out) in the cold
To be ignored, forgotten, or excluded, as from a group, activity, benefit, etc. Watch the video
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
WE MET KAMALA HARRIS! (Brought to you by Allison Reese) #dnc #kamalaharris #impression @AlienReese
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Funny Or Die (Youtube)
We braved secret service to bring you the hard hitting questions that America NEEDS to know 💪
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