Chapter 2. New words in contemporary Chinese language use

2019 ◽  
pp. 5-25
Author(s):  
Yun Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
New Words ◽  
Contemporary Chinese

A Demographic Profile of the Chinese in Singapore

1981 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warwick Neville
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Chinese Community ◽  
Demographic Profile ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Similar Elements

This paper attempts to appraise just one facet of the Chinese community in Singapore — its demographic character and the degree to which this is distinctive within the broader setting of Singapore society at large. The information available as the basis for such an analysis is limited and more definitive statements on trends and differences will be possible as the statistics compiled from the 1980 census become available.Important changes are occurring within the Chinese community which have considerable significance for the republic but for which there is no direct basis of comparison with other ethnic communities. These considerations have not been examined here but include the changing behaviour in matters of kinship, associations and societies, marriage, religion, and similar elements central to the Chinese community. Perhaps the most significant of these currently is the issue of language and the active promotion by government of Mandarin not only as the official Chinese language but as a substitute for dialects in circumstances where, until now, they have been dominant. Although surveys of language use have been carried out recently, these have been too small and too specialized to provide a basis for general conclusions, and again it is to be hoped that the 1980 census data will provide an updated benchmark for this parameter comparable to that of earlier censuses.

Personality expression in Chinese language use

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 463-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Qiu ◽  
Jiahui Lu ◽  
Jonathan Ramsay ◽  
Shanshan Yang ◽  
Weina Qu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Chinese Language

Language Use among Emirati College Students: Examining the Attrition Rate and Variation across Genders

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-86
Author(s):  
Muna Balfaqeeh
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
New Words ◽  
Gulf Countries ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Male Subjects

Abstract During the last decade, the Arabian Gulf region has headed towards an increasing use of a ‘Pan Gulf vernacular’, “…a homogenized form of ‘Gulf’ speech not identifiable with any particular Gulf community” (Holes, 2011: 130), where new words are introduced or borrowed from neighboring Gulf countries while many others disappear from the local lexicon. This paper is an extension of a previous study (Balfaqeeh, 2015) in which the Emirati vernacular was investigated in order to identify which words had become obsolete from Emiratis’ mental lexicon and been replaced by what were considered to be more accessible words borrowed from neighboring Gulf countries. The method used is twofold: a vocabulary test generated from two popular Emirati TV serials: ‘Sh-ḥafan’ (1970), and ‘Firi:dʒ’ (2006). In addition, a Likert scale survey measured students’ perception of their use of the Emirati vernacular and the possible reasons that may have led to the disappearance of some of these words. The aim of this study is to measure the attrition of Emirati vocabulary among young people and measure their attitudes (mostly opinions) towards language use and language change. The research also concentrates on multiculturalism, the media and social media, and the economy and each of these areas’ possible roles in driving language change in the UAE. Finally, the researcher considered whether masculinity and exposure to culture and heritage play roles in the subjects’ competence in Emirati. The analysis of the data confirmed that despite the male subjects’ exposure to culture and heritage, it did not have any impact on their competence or use of the Emirati vernacular. It also confirmed that the subjects are aware of the impact of the above-mentioned factors and their implications for identity.

scholarly journals In the Tortuous Shadows of Ethnic Policies: Two Case Studies of Chinese Cultural Heritage in Indonesia and Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Voss
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Vital Part ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Heritage Discourse ◽  
Contemporary Chinese

Abstract Concurrent with the inception of the nation states of Indonesia and Malaysia in the middle of the twentieth century, ethnic policies were put into practice to destroy the Chinese cultural heritage that had hitherto been regarded as a vital part of the region’s heterogeneous cultural landscapes. Chinese language, organisations, and religious practices were banned, and architecture and artefacts with Chinese symbols or insignia either looted or destroyed. To what extent have these discriminatory agendas further influenced and shaped contemporary Chinese cultural heritage discourse? To answer this question this article starts with an introduction to the anti-Chinese agenda from Independence onwards, which is followed by two case studies from the field of cultural heritage: the organisation Boen Hian Tong in Semarang on Java in Indonesia, and the NGO Penang Heritage Trust in Malaysia. The research is based on fieldwork carried out in Indonesia and Malaysia in 2014–2015.

Implicit Meaning of Chinese Vocabulary on Colors in Five Elements Elucidating Socio-Cultural Context

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Kritsadee Songkhai
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Chinese Opera ◽  
New Words ◽  
The World ◽  
Five Elements ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Culture And Language

The Chinese words on colors do not only indicate types of colors, but also implicit the elucidating socio-cultural context. Colors in the Chinese language represent good and bad terms. For example, the makeup color of the Chinese opera show assigns the character wearing red makeup as a symbol of loyalty, justice, power, wealth, or high rank. Red contains most of the excellent and positive definition. On the other hand, the character wearing white means a person who is dangerous, cunning, and dishonest. These are some examples of how Chinese people use colors to represent meaning. Moreover, Chinese vocabularies are also communicated through alphabets and created to new words that hide beliefs and culture of the use of color as well.This research aims to study the “Implicit Meaning of Chinese Vocabulary on Colors in Five Elements Elucidating Socio-cultural Context.” China is a fascinating country in culture and language. Besides, Chinese is a language used by many people as the top three in the world. This research studies 5 Chinese color words, which are red, black, white, green, and yellow. The methodology is to analyze words through the example vocabularies by describing and collecting from books, journals, and articles. For an instant, Red in Chinese culture is the color of fortune. Therefore, red words are used to create new words that relate to prosperity, such as 开门红(kāi mén hóng)means opening to welcome good things or 红红火火(hóng hóng huǒ huǒ)which is a wish for prosperity and, often used for business. As a result, it can be seen that the study of Chinese color terms is not only about colors, but these words also link to beliefs and cultures over time until many new words are created. It is the use of color words mixed into new vocabulary to reflect the ideas, beliefs, and cultures. We can study Chinese culture through color vocabulary very well.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document