Chinese-born English words will go big

Chinese is an important source of new English words

A recent report by Global Language Monitor states that words of Chinese origin are playing a key role in driving the ongoing globalization of English. "The fact that some 300 million Chinese people are now studying or have studied English means the important impact of Chinese on the language can't be denied," said Paul J.J. Payack, president and chief analyst at Global Language Monitor.

Professor Yao Shuangyun from China Central Normal University's Research Center for Language and Language Education gave three reasons to explain why more English words are coming from Chinese: the first is that English accepts a broad range of loan-words because it is an open and inclusive language; the second is the rapid development of science and technology and more frequent cultural exchanges between countries which are encouraging the blending of Chinese and English; the third is that the international status of Chinese is rising, providing favorable conditions for Chinese to strengthen its impact on English.

Professor Zhou Haizhong from Sun Yat-Sen University considers that English words of Chinese origin are an inevitable outcome of the meeting of English and Chinese, and of the integration of Chinese and Western cultures. China-related English is likely to increase with more frequent cultural exchanges.

There have been many studies on foreign-born words which have entered the Chinese language; in contrast, there has been little research on China-related English. Now, as Chinese buzzwords grow in popularity worldwide, Chinese language experts should focus on and discuss Chinese-born English as an emerging culture.

The adoption process of English words with Chinese roots

Various English words of Chinese origin have been absorbed in different ways, including transliteration, free translation, partial transliteration plus a generic affix, or other methods. For example, Taikonaut is a combination word from Chinese Taikong (Space) and Greek's nautēs (voyager). And a translated Chinese phrase "long time no see" is now an English expression used as a greeting by people who have not seen each other for a while.

Meanwhile, Chinese-born English words need to go through a strict verification process before entering the English dictionary. Julie Kleeman, project manager of Bilingual Dictionaries with the Oxford University Press, noted that Oxford's English language experts would need to see evidence of a Chinese buzzword in use across a range of English media and over the course of a period of time when they are considering including it in the Oxford Dictionary.