https://www.scmp.com/rss/330486/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When it comes to the Chinese zodiac, creatures like dragons and tigers are so important that they have become stereotypes used to represent the nation. And yet, if we analyse the exact same zodiac in a different language, Bahasa Indonesia, the dragons and tigers are almost irrelevant. This finding, and other interesting nuggets, were the result of research from Indonesia that compared and contrasted proverbs in Mandarin and Bahasa to offer interesting insights into how language changes our... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3176853/how-language-changes-our-perception-chinese-zodiac?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3176853/how-language-changes-our-perception-chinese-zodiac?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 May 2022 01:00:22 +0000 Arthur Harrow wants his followers to speak three languages. He might want to find a new Mandarin teacher first. The Moon Knight villain (played by Ethan Hawke) has a brief conversation, ostensibly in Chinese, with one of his followers in the second episode of the Marvel series, and viewers familiar with Mandarin are criticising the scene for butchering the language and calling it “gibberish” on social media. Even Marvel Cinematic Universe actor Simu Liu, who starred in Shang-Chi and the Legend... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3174209/marvels-moon-knight-angers-fans-over-bad-mandarin-spoken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3174209/marvels-moon-knight-angers-fans-over-bad-mandarin-spoken?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Apr 2022 23:15:12 +0000 With a name derived from an old tale, “Sky Rains Grain” is a series of paintings by Kurt Chan Yuk-keung that reimagines the birth of Chinese words and offers a fresh take on the timeless East-meets-West dynamic. As the fable goes, the gods decided to rain grain from the heavens when the legendary figure Cangjie invented the first Chinese characters nearly 5,000 years ago, because they feared that humans would become too preoccupied with wordplay and the pursuit of wisdom to grow enough food for... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3172681/painter-kurt-chan-reimagines-birth-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3172681/painter-kurt-chan-reimagines-birth-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Apr 2022 05:15:17 +0000 This month marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of a Chinese intellectual and diplomat who played a key role in on of the major turning points in the Second World War – an event being commemorated in a new book. The biography details the life of Hu Shih, whose many roles included wartime ambassador of the Republic of China (ROC) to the US and convincing Franklin D Roosevelt not to sign an agreement with Japan and instead request that Tokyo remove its troops from China. The president’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3160972/remarkable-life-intellectual-and-language-reformer-hu-shih?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3160972/remarkable-life-intellectual-and-language-reformer-hu-shih?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Dec 2021 03:00:22 +0000 Speak Not by James Griffiths, pub. Zed Books One recent study suggests that just over 3,000 languages are currently endangered – nearly half of those in use today globally. What causes language death? The process is, generally, gradual: an accelerating shift from an old linguistic system towards one with greater perceived utility or status. But, as journalist James Griffiths argues in Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language, this process is often driven by malign... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3158220/will-cantonese-struggle-survive-welsh-hawaiian-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3158220/will-cantonese-struggle-survive-welsh-hawaiian-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Dec 2021 08:15:11 +0000 Mandarin-learning app operator LingoAce raised US$105 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India to fuel its growth after pandemic-related lockdowns boosted demand for its service. Owl Ventures, Shunwei Capital and SWC Global took part in the Series C round, which brings the total raised this year to US$160 million, Singapore-based LingoAce said in a statement. Owl and Tiger Global led a US$55 million round earlier in the year. LingoAce targets children from 3 to 15 with an app... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3158315/chinese-language-learning-app-operator-lingoace-raises-us105?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3158315/chinese-language-learning-app-operator-lingoace-raises-us105?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Dec 2021 07:23:03 +0000 Having lived in Asia for a decade as a freelance journalist, US citizen Erin Hale realised that it would be imperative to learn Chinese to get where she wanted to be in life. She had spent much of 2019 simultaneously reporting on Hong Kong’s anti-extradition protests and looked for avenues to begin learning Mandarin – all of this done in her native language English. “I started realising that [living in Hong Kong] was not going to work and that a lot of job applications ask for language skills,... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3157539/pandemic-and-politics-make-learning-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3157539/pandemic-and-politics-make-learning-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Nov 2021 10:00:25 +0000 One characteristic of small, open, advanced economies like Switzerland and Singapore is a recognition of the importance of a multilingual workforce for economic competitiveness. Switzerland has four official languages – German, French, Italian and Romansh – while Singapore also has four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Hong Kong’s official languages are Chinese and English, which are arguably among the most important languages for the 21st century. The case for promoting... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3156201/hong-kongs-language-advantage-good-business-tech-can-make-it-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3156201/hong-kongs-language-advantage-good-business-tech-can-make-it-better?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Nov 2021 01:15:10 +0000 There are some things the internet just can’t get enough of: grumpy cats, charity challenges, TikTok dances and – in China particularly – foreigners speaking Chinese. The latest sensation to have taken over people’s news feeds is Gurdip Singh, 54, a Singapore-based marine technician who has won a legion of fans for his fluent Cantonese. Known to his fans as yum cha kor, or “tea-drinking brother”, Singh gained almost 560,000 followers on video-sharing platform Bilibili this month for a clip in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3138583/why-does-internet-love-chinese-speaking-foreigners-yum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3138583/why-does-internet-love-chinese-speaking-foreigners-yum?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:00:18 +0000 Buddhists around the world commemorate the life of the Buddha in the latter part of May this year. In Hong Kong, the Buddha’s Birthday is being celebrated today, May 19, which is a public or bank holiday, but not a statutory holiday. In some parts of the world, the festival is known as Vesak or Wesak Day, which observes not just the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, who Buddhists believe is the current Buddha among multiple past and future Buddhas, but his enlightenment and death as well. Vesak Day... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3134054/why-fotuo-chinese-word-buddha-his-birthday-celebrated-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3134054/why-fotuo-chinese-word-buddha-his-birthday-celebrated-week?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 May 2021 10:15:10 +0000 In February, the Education Bureau released a questionnaire regarding reforms to the senior secondary school curriculum. While proposals such as for a drastic change in the liberal studies subject sparked much controversy, other important issues may have been overlooked – such as Chinese-language study for children from the ethnic minority communities. In its questionnaire, the bureau said the needs of non-Chinese-speaking students should be considered and that the assessment method could be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3128108/how-use-chinese-put-all-hong-kong-students-same-page?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3128108/how-use-chinese-put-all-hong-kong-students-same-page?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Apr 2021 22:15:16 +0000 While many were focusing on the nail-bitingly high tensions of the US-China summit recently held in Alaska, plenty of others found their attentions drifting elsewhere – namely, towards interpreter Zhang Jing. She stole the limelight with her eloquent, fluent translation for China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi, and nicknames such as “China’s most beautiful interpreter” began to surface on Chinese social media, praising Zhang not just for her admirable translating skills, but her grace and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3126953/chinas-beautiful-interpreter-zhang-jing-setting-social?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3126953/chinas-beautiful-interpreter-zhang-jing-setting-social?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Mar 2021 08:24:57 +0000 Yumeng Zhuang fell in love with physics and philosophy as a high school student in China. That passion led her to Albert Einstein and Immanuel Kant – and then to a desire to study German so she could read their works as originally written. But her parents weren’t thrilled, pushing her to perfect her English instead. “They said German is not a useful language because not many people speak it,” says Zhuang, a physics major at the University of California at Los Angeles. “So I started studying it... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3123029/asian-language-courses-preferred-students-globally-k-pop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3123029/asian-language-courses-preferred-students-globally-k-pop?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Feb 2021 04:30:13 +0000 China’s minority languages face the threat of extinction, a new study has found. A WordFinder study, based on UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, has found that 25 ethnic minority languages in China are now being pushed to the brink of extinction. One language, known as Fuyu Kyrgyz, can be traced back to central Siberia three centuries ago, but is now only spoken by 10 elderly residents of Fuyu County, in China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province, the study found. Li Jinfang, an... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-minority-languages-face-extinction/article/3122635?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-minority-languages-face-extinction/article/3122635?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Feb 2021 10:01:56 +0000 Dozens of languages and dialects in China are in danger of disappearing, a new study has found. According to the study by website WordFinder, based on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 25 of China’s spoken languages are “critically endangered”. This puts it seventh in the world behind the United States, with 82 languages critically endangered), Brazil, with 45, Australia, with 42, India (41), Indonesia (32) and Canada... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3121562/chinese-minority-languages-among-those-risk-dying-out-no-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3121562/chinese-minority-languages-among-those-risk-dying-out-no-one?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Feb 2021 12:15:18 +0000 Lauded for her acting, Meryl Streep has revealed another talent – speaking Chinese. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, earlier this month, the Hollywood legend was coaxed to recite the famous Chinese poem, “The Deer Range”, which she learned in 2011. While the 71-year-old did not get the tone of some of the characters correct, her recitation led to widespread praise from social media users in China who were shocked she remembered it.  Many applauded her ability to master what is... https://www.scmp.com/society/5-celebrities-can-join-meryl-streep-and-wow-chinese-language-skills/article/3115253?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/5-celebrities-can-join-meryl-streep-and-wow-chinese-language-skills/article/3115253?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Dec 2020 10:58:47 +0000 The top buzzwords in China for 2020 reflected the coronavirus fatigue and general sense of aimlessness that have plagued this pandemic-addled year. Some trending terms also touched on social stagnation and wealth inequality. Selected by Yaowen Jiaozi, a magazine that promotes the Chinese language, the top buzzwords included “sacred beasts,” “new wave” and “Versaille literature.”  One word was particularly insightful: “Involution,” which describes the lack of advances in agrarian societies when... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-buzzwords-reveal-unease-and-aimlessness/article/3113572?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-buzzwords-reveal-unease-and-aimlessness/article/3113572?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2020 11:09:08 +0000 Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. China has been promoting the use of Mandarin as the country’s official language for decades, but this official push for “linguistic unity” has proved difficult in the vast country. China’s 1.4 billion residents speak hundreds of mutually unintelligible languages and dialects. National figures show that some 270 million people, or about one in five people, do... https://www.scmp.com/politics/inkstone-explains-chinas-efforts-promote-national-language-and-backlash/article/3102658?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/inkstone-explains-chinas-efforts-promote-national-language-and-backlash/article/3102658?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2020 03:43:49 +0000 China’s new language policy for schools in Inner Mongolia sparked rare protests and class boycotts in the region as locals fear the rules will suffocate their culture. Some parents have been threatened with layoffs, fines, and their children’s expulsion from school if they refuse to send their kids back to school. https://www.scmp.com/china/mongolians-fear-loss-languages-china-pushes-mandarin/article/3101704?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/mongolians-fear-loss-languages-china-pushes-mandarin/article/3101704?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2020 09:36:23 +0000 Every Tuesday and Thursday, Inkstone Explains unravels the ideas and context behind the headlines to help you understand news about China. Mandarin Chinese has more native speakers than any other language in the world, thanks to China’s large population and a government campaign to get every citizen to speak the national language. Mandarin boasts over 920 million native speakers and an additional 200 million second-language speakers, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world,... https://www.scmp.com/society/inkstone-explains-mandarin-chinas-rising-national-language/article/3089086?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/inkstone-explains-mandarin-chinas-rising-national-language/article/3089086?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jun 2020 05:40:16 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Simplified Chinese was the most popular language on Steam in December, according to the popular online game store’s latest monthly survey. The result, first spotted by PC Gamer, shows that people using simplified Chinese characters made up nearly 38% of those surveyed. The characters are most widely used in mainland China, as opposed to traditional Chinese characters more widely used in other areas like Hong Kong and Taiwan. Steam differentiates between... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/news-bites/article/3045161/simplified-chinese-now-most-used-language-steam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/news-bites/article/3045161/simplified-chinese-now-most-used-language-steam?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jan 2020 06:47:58 +0000 Simplified Chinese was the most popular language on Steam in December, according to the popular online game store’s latest monthly survey. The result, first spotted by PC Gamer, shows that people using simplified Chinese characters made up nearly 38% of those surveyed. The characters are most widely used in mainland China, as opposed to traditional Chinese characters more widely used in other areas like Hong Kong and Taiwan. Steam differentiates between the two in its languages section, with... https://www.scmp.com/china-tech-city/simplified-chinese-now-most-used-language-steam/article/3045152?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china-tech-city/simplified-chinese-now-most-used-language-steam/article/3045152?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jan 2020 06:47:57 +0000 How do you pronounce the surname of the US presidential candidate Andrew Yang? Does it rhyme with “gang,” as in “Yang Gang”?  While this pronunciation may be intuitive to Americans – it’s how the Democratic hopeful says his name – it might sound a little off to Chinese ears. In the video above, we explain the difference between how Mandarin speakers pronounce the popular Chinese last name and how most Americans say it. https://www.scmp.com/politics/why-andrew-yangs-name-sounds-weird-chinese-speakers/article/3036768?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/why-andrew-yangs-name-sounds-weird-chinese-speakers/article/3036768?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2019 12:02:40 +0000 This article was updated on Sep 19, 2019 to include comment from the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Ever been stumped by how to say Xi Jinping? You’re not alone, and China’s Olympic organizers have acknowledged recognized the problem. The organizers chose an unconventional way to name their new 2022 Olympic mascots: a panda and an anthropomorphic lantern.  Instead of using Pinyin, the romanized spelling system used by more than 1 billion Mandarin... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-2022-olympic-mascots-have-unusual-names/article/3027895?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-2022-olympic-mascots-have-unusual-names/article/3027895?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2019 10:56:55 +0000 Writing Chinese is hard, even for people who grew up learning how to read and write it. Almost everyone has an embarrassing account of how they started writing a sentence on paper only to stop in the middle because they forgot how to write a certain character. The problem is not unique to Chinese. Any English speaker can recall moments when they forgot how to spell a specific word. But with over 8,000 characters to memorize—the majority of which aren’t used in everyday life—Chinese people are... https://www.scmp.com/culture/are-chinese-people-forgetting-how-write/article/3011174?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/are-chinese-people-forgetting-how-write/article/3011174?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2019 11:04:12 +0000 No matter what language you speak, chances are you know what “mama” and “papa” mean when you hear those words. They are “māma” and “bàba” in Mandarin, “mama” and “tata” in Bosnian, “maman” and “papa” in French, and “nana” and “tata” in Fijian. Some linguists say that with rare exceptions, those words for mother and father need no translation across language families and cultures because they’re the easiest sounds to make for a baby. When you learned to say the vowel sound in “ma,” all you needed... https://www.scmp.com/china/why-almost-everyone-calls-their-dad-papa-its-not-always-been-way/article/3010044?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/why-almost-everyone-calls-their-dad-papa-its-not-always-been-way/article/3010044?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2019 11:23:20 +0000 As negotiators from the United States and China grow closer to clinching a deal to end the trade war, both sides will be wary of the complications that can arise from issues of language, interpretation and translation during negotiations. While both sides are negotiating in their native tongues with the help of simultaneous translation, the subsequent text will be translated into both English and Chinese. These translations will then be “scrubbed” by lawyers and technical translators in an... https://www.scmp.com/politics/how-will-us-and-china-tackle-translation-problems-trade-war-agreement/article/3008122?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/how-will-us-and-china-tackle-translation-problems-trade-war-agreement/article/3008122?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2019 10:13:01 +0000 Apart from being badass martial arts icons, Bruce Lee, and Jet Li have one more thing in common – they share the same last name. In English, Lee and Li are two different last names, but in Chinese, they’re written as the same character – 李. It is one of the most common Chinese last names. The distinction in English is the result of two different transliterations. “Lee” comes from a system of romanization of Chinese characters common among Cantonese speakers in southern China, whereas “Li” comes... https://www.scmp.com/arts/romanization-chinese-american-surnames-tells-story-immigration-and-language/article/3005868?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/arts/romanization-chinese-american-surnames-tells-story-immigration-and-language/article/3005868?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Apr 2019 09:54:02 +0000 Chinese given names are mostly two or three characters long, but they can be packed with history. Consider “fight America.” Or “help North Korea.” Or “build China.” These are literally what countless Chinese parents named their children in the 1950s in the years following the founding of communist China. But Chinese naming trends have changed over the decades, reflecting a country that has undergone dramatic political and cultural transformations. In the 60s, some of the hottest baby names were... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-most-popular-baby-names-change-communist-slogans-traditional-virtues/article/3006379?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-most-popular-baby-names-change-communist-slogans-traditional-virtues/article/3006379?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:28:41 +0000 At the end of one English class in third grade, I became Amy. My teacher – a young man we called “Mister Wang” – handed every student a card that held the English name he had chosen for us. I found on my card a picture of a cute anime character and the handwritten word “Amy.” So that became my English name, the first of several more to come that would go on to define me and lead to strange conversations. But first, “Amy” accompanied me when I was learning to sing the alphabet, the words for... https://www.scmp.com/china/viola-zhou-i-was-viola-i-was-amy-and-easy/article/3005902?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/viola-zhou-i-was-viola-i-was-amy-and-easy/article/3005902?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Apr 2019 10:40:42 +0000 A young Chinese Singaporean recently posted on social media that a mainland Chinese tourist he was trying to help in Singapore verbally shamed him for not being able to speak Mandarin properly. In retaliation for her rudeness, he gave her the wrong directions, which isn’t a nice thing to do to a guest, no matter how nasty she was. The attitude that informed her scolding of the young man is typical of many Chinese, as well as a segment of Chinese Singaporeans: that people of Chinese ancestry have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/wee-kek-koon-do-chinese-have-moral-obligation-know-their-language/article/3005830?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/wee-kek-koon-do-chinese-have-moral-obligation-know-their-language/article/3005830?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Apr 2019 10:40:39 +0000 English is a mandatory subject in China, from primary school to college. The nation’s students spend hour upon hour studying English grammar, memorizing vocabulary and practicing their writing skills. But not everyone finds the investment worth it. Hua Qianfang, a nationalistic writer with a large online following, said in an online post this week that most Chinese people had no reason to learn English, calling it a “trash skill.” The post has gone viral, leading to heated debate online. “For... https://www.scmp.com/education/nationalistic-chinese-writer-says-learning-english-overrated/article/3002811?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/education/nationalistic-chinese-writer-says-learning-english-overrated/article/3002811?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Mar 2019 08:38:37 +0000 Guangzhou is known as the birthplace of Cantonese, but among the city’s younger generation, it’s quickly losing favor to Mandarin, the official national language. Some grandchildren have reportedly refused to speak in Cantonese with grandparents who can only communicate in it, while young parents often switch between Cantonese and Mandarin when talking with their children. “It’s a pity, but it’s necessary because most kids nowadays don’t like speaking Cantonese even though they were born here... https://www.scmp.com/culture/activist-fighting-keep-cantonese-alive-its-homeland/article/3000209?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/activist-fighting-keep-cantonese-alive-its-homeland/article/3000209?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Oct 2018 11:35:03 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/story/7-cantonese-slang-words-ghost/article/3000200?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/story/7-cantonese-slang-words-ghost/article/3000200?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Oct 2018 15:51:12 +0000