"Ungelivable": Hot New Chinglish Terms Used by the Foreign Press

Editor’s note: Reflecting on foreign press’s coverage of China during the past few years, it's been interesting to see that so many articles – no doubt in an effort to be more figurative and create more eye-catching descriptions of phenomena unique to China – have often reached outside the realm of the standardised English vocabulary, and taken to using a healthy amount of Chinglish sounding terms in their articles. Although many of these terms are a bit odd, they’ve nevertheless caught on, establishing a new group of China-exclusive English vocabulary in the process – call it "Proper Chinglish" if you will. The following article, first published in Modern Express, rehashes some classic "Proper Chinglish" terms, and also introduces new terms that will likely become the new classics.

A "Chinsumer"  (中國購物狂) Photo: bestvilla

In 2010, a new Chinglish term – gelivable and ungelivable – spread across the Chinese web. Created from the Mandarin slang gěilì (给力) meaning something that's cool, awesome, great (or something that isn't), this word was one of the best examples of a new group of Proper Chinglish terms, that’s transcended the former pejorative meaning of "Chinglish", and instead become its own definable word. Linguists were absolutely fascinated by the creation of gelivable, and how it became a part of Chinese pop culture so quickly. The New York Times first commented on the word in a November 18th 2010 blog entry, referring to it as "a Chinese neologism" (a newly coined phrase).

These days, it seems that even more foreign press are jumping on the Proper Chinglish bandwagon: In an article on the gender gap issue in China, the Economist magazine, opted to use the Chinese pin-yin word guanggun (光棍) to refer to China's bachelor population; A New Yorker article on the rise of China's young nationalist movement (angry youth), used the word fenqing (愤青); and The Guardian (along with many other media sources) frequently described the complexities of Chinese interpersonal relationships with the word guanxi (关系). According to a report by the U.S. Global Language Monitor, of the increases to the International English vocabulary since 1995, between 5-20% came from Chinglish – more than any other source. Experts believe that following China’s rising national power, its culture is becoming a more prominent component of the "world culture". Below, is a list of a few recent Chinglish terms that have begun to catch on in the foreign press.

1) China Bear (中国熊)
China Bear is a Chinglish phrase coined by the Financial Times, who used it in their evaluation of China's A-Shares. The word vividly described investors, who in the first half of 2011 became bearish toward China (hence the Chinglish phrase China Bear), believing that China's A-Share market was too "long" and would likely decline. A "bear market" is marked by a general decline in a stock market, and bear investors in this market situation will "short sell" stocks that they think will lose value (its essentially betting on the likelihood that something bad will happen). The jury is still out on whether these China Bears bet correctly…

2) Chinawood (中国坞)
In both domestic and overseas markets, Chinese movies are faced with fierce competition from Hollywood. An Indian media source had the ingenious idea of referring to the development of the Chinese film industry as Chinawood. In terms of the number of films produced and the income generated by the Chinese box office, the Chinese film industry ranks third in the world. However, Chinese movies have thus far been mostly unsuccessful internationally. A lack of big-name international movie stars, difficulties with subtitles and poor promotion are the big reasons that Chinese films don't do well abroad (not to mention the unimaginative plots…). Chinawood has a long arduous journey ahead, but, hey, at least it has a catchy name now!

3) Leading Dragon (领头龙)
On November 24th, 2011, A BBC article coined the term leading dragon, describing China's position in the world economy. The article, entitled "China, the 'Leading Dragon' of the World Economy" was written by Justin Yifu Lin, Chief Economist for the World Bank: "Whether we are on the verge of an "Asian Century" or not, one thing is clear: there has already been a dramatic shift in the geographic centre of the global economy. China is now front and centre, and its role as a leading dragon can be beneficial for growth prospects for the world economy. The world desperately needs engines of growth right now, and fortunately - with continued strong and pragmatic economic policy making - China can provide that impetus."

4) Naked Phenomenon (裸现象)
Naked marriage (裸婚), naked exams (裸考), naked resignation (裸辞)... China's recent naked phenomenon has naturally been attracting all sorts of media attention (if not just for the name's debauched "last days of Rome" imagery). A December 13th, 2011 article from the Christian Science Monitor said as much – it promptly reminded readers that these naked stories "had nothing to do with a lack of clothes". Instead, the word naked (裸) in the context of modern Chinese society, represents a paradigm shift of the social norms for China's youth. For example, a naked marriage refers to a couple who get married despite the groom not owning a house and car; a naked test refers to a student taking a test without spending countless mind-numbing hours preparing for it; and naked resignation refers to a person quitting their job without another one lined up. Clearly, these naked phenomena really going against the grain of Chinese traditions; or as CS Monitor more prophetically quipped: "If ‘going naked’ really takes off, it could mean major changes for Chinese society..."

5) Peking Pound (北京镑)
Following the winter holiday season 2010, many wealthy Chinese tourists were flocking to Britain to take advantage of the various sales for luxury brands, (with some experts estimating that they would spend upward of one billion pounds during the sale). Daily Mail, in a December 29th, 2010 article, coined the phrase Peking Pound to describe this shopping frenzy. According to the article: "The booming Peking Pound has accounted for almost a third of post-Christmas purchases of high end goods such as Burberry, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton and Gucci." The demand was so high that a number of high-end stores in London hired Mandarin speakers to assist customers. Even more ridiculous, one of London's more famous department stores, Selfridges, began accepting China's UnionPay debit cards, to further convenience what have become the UK's biggest consumers of luxury goods.  

Source: finance.huanqiu.com
 

Related links
More Chinese Words You Didn’t Know You Already Know
9 English Words "Borrowed" from Chinese
Chinglish Sightings: Knock Heads, Civilization Cars and CPU Stations