百變星君 Posted August 16, 2005 at 02:20 PM Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 at 02:20 PM Has anybody else noticed the occasional seepage of interesting foreign words into putonghua? I keep noticing people using "logo" in place of a chinese equivalent. How would you write this in chinese? 露够? 镂钩? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quest Posted August 16, 2005 at 07:00 PM Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 at 07:00 PM 太 doesn't really go with 啊 This topic had been discussed before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewouldgo Posted August 16, 2005 at 09:37 PM Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 at 09:37 PM 太 doesn't really go with 啊 他们的LOGO太棒啦! 他们的LOGO很棒啊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiaosan Posted August 17, 2005 at 03:38 AM Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 at 03:38 AM 商标 might be the word for logo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
百變星君 Posted August 17, 2005 at 12:35 PM Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 at 12:35 PM Thanks for the tip about 啦 and 啊, My main question was about english words being adopted into chinese. I've heard people actually use the english word "logo" while speaking chinese (even on TV shows), and I was just wondering if other people have heard other foreign words being used in chinese like this. The english language has a lot of loan words from other languages, like "sushi" "canoe" or even some chinese expressions like "long time no see"... I guess out of linguistic curiousity i'd just like to know if there are other examples of loan words like "logo" in chinese. With the further opening up of the PRC these days, I imagine quite a few foreign words have been filtering into the chinese language. A friend also told me about a book he read discussing how in the early 20th century a lot of chinese words (especially technical/economic words) were borrowed from their japanese equivalents (based on the characters). I'd like to know more about this interesting topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_lab Posted August 18, 2005 at 01:59 AM Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 at 01:59 AM Re: Long time no see From the Oxford English Dictionary: c. Colloq. phr. (orig. U.S.) long time no see, a joc. imitation of broken English, used as a greeting after prolonged separation. 1900 W. F. DRANNAN 31 Yrs. on Plains (1901) xxxvii. 515 When we rode up to him [sc. an American Indian] he said: ‘Good mornin. Long time no see you.’ 1939 R. CHANDLER in Sat. Even. Post 14 Oct. 72/4 Hi, Tony. Long time no see. 1940 [see HIYA int.]. 1959 D. BEATY Cone of Silence viii. 105 ‘Hello, Clive.’ ‘Long time no see.’ 1959 C. MACINNES Absolute Beginners 68 Hail, squire... Long time no see. 1971 D. E. WESTLAKE I gave at the Office (1972) 164 ‘Hello, Arnold,’ I said... ‘Long time no see.’ According to the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, "Long time no see" is : "a jocular imitation of broken English originated in the pidgin English used in Chinese and Western exchange. [Late 1800s]" http://www.englishforums.com/English/LongTimeNoSee/zghg/Post.htm#26424 The first usage was imitative of native Americans, but it's hard to say what part Chinese played in its gaining popularity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiaosan Posted August 18, 2005 at 02:25 AM Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 at 02:25 AM That is very interesting. For English words found their way into Chinese languge, there are a few still kept their original pronunciation, like: 沙发 to sofa There are also some words have eventually changed to Chinese meaning based words. For example, during 20s to 30s, there were two words called 德先生 for democratic, and 塞先生 for science. But eventually they changed to 民主, 科学. The reason is obvious: it's easier to understand and remember by Chinese people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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