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Respect language habits
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-15 08:29
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It's not wise to ban the use of all English acronyms in an effort to maintain the purity of the Chinese language, says an article from Nanfang Metropolis News. Excerpts:
In Early April, CCTV was notified of a ban on the use of certain English acronyms. Both the China Language Committee and the Chinese Language Modernization Committee emphasized the use of Chinese words, but failed to make explicit what the standards were.
The announcement has elicited sharp criticism. The ban on English acronyms in the mass media is expected to have little impact in other contexts. These widely-used acronyms cannot be deleted by prohibition.
The Chinese language assimilates foreign acronyms, which have become part of the vocabulary. The ban would impair further development of a living language.
People's language habits should be respected. A mandatory prohibition will only trigger spontaneous resistance and is bound to fail.
(China Daily 04/15/2010 page9)
