Recently a Beijing father filed a question at an Internet forum asking what "PK" meant.

"My family has been watching the 'Super Girl' singing competition TV programme. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' means, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.

To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension) games online, it is impossible not to know this term.

In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill," in which two players fight in a duel, until one ends the life of another.

In the case of the "Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage when two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.

Like this embarrassed father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' composition using Internet jargon difficult to understand.

A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write up compositions with colloquial language, but they come up with a lot of Internet jargon that she didn't understand.

"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM.' I love to 'FB' with him together. He always took me to the 'KPM,'" went one composition.

"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful sister). "FB" means "to corrupt," often having good food or doing something luxurious. "KPM" is the short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonalds.

While some linguists hail Internet jargon as new development in language, teachers are worried that too much use of such language might lead students away from the "right" usages. Parents especially worry that their children might not do well in language tests because of the use of non-standard Internet language.

Despite those mixed feelings, the conciseness and liveliness of Internet language continues to attract Internet surfers for making efficient communication.

If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to ugly looking male) is, then you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao (newbie)!

(China Daily 09/22/2005 page3)