China Vs English
21/12/10 12:24![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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talkpoliticshttp://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7238161.html
The Chinese government is starting a crackdown on the use of English words in the Chinese media claiming that their use sullies the Chinese language.
Frankly, this is clearly trying to be a genie back in the bottle. Certainly media run by the state and the media in general will fall in line since they don't really have a choice. But for the ordinary person on the street I doubt anything will really change and I'm sure than young people in China, an increasing number of whom have some reasonable degree of English skill, will continue on as they and might even make greater use of English just to give the government the finger.
No one really listens to the Académie française so I doubt that in the end the Chinese are going to be able to stop English from "dirtying" Chinese. It all just reeks of old men trying to hold back the tide on things they don't really understand. History has shown that language is too fluid to be controlled like that.
The Chinese government is starting a crackdown on the use of English words in the Chinese media claiming that their use sullies the Chinese language.
Frankly, this is clearly trying to be a genie back in the bottle. Certainly media run by the state and the media in general will fall in line since they don't really have a choice. But for the ordinary person on the street I doubt anything will really change and I'm sure than young people in China, an increasing number of whom have some reasonable degree of English skill, will continue on as they and might even make greater use of English just to give the government the finger.
No one really listens to the Académie française so I doubt that in the end the Chinese are going to be able to stop English from "dirtying" Chinese. It all just reeks of old men trying to hold back the tide on things they don't really understand. History has shown that language is too fluid to be controlled like that.
(no subject)
Date: 23/12/10 14:53 (UTC)