English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> 天天读报> 每日播报

Oxford dictionary adds popular Chinese terms

[ 2010-09-06 15:47]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

进入英语学习论坛下载音频 去听写专区一展身手

The prestigious 115-year-old Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms such as "shanzhai" "youtiao" and "fangnu," as part of the modern Chinese language.

As China plays a more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is evolving, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient and vibrant language.

For instance, the word "shanzhai" is used to describe the knockoffs of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos.

Another new term in the new edition is the word "fangnu," or a "mortgage slave" - a term used to describe the phenomenon in larger cities whereby well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage.

All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford Chinese-English, English-Chinese dictionary that was unveiled in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week.

The dictionary now is available in stores.

This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation. Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China - the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press - worked together on the project. According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary's chief editor, most of the firm's editors were Chinese, and about one-fourth were native-English speakers.

"We don't want to make it florid, we want it to be modern and conversational. Many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use," she said. "The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago. Precise, native and practical - that is our core advantage."

She added that the dictionary also has a sidebar section that explains words that pack in too much cultural information, like "hutong," a traditional architecture style common in the narrow lanes of Beijing. Another would be "youtiao," the popular Chinese breakfast staple usually eaten with soybean milk.

Questions:

1. What words are included in the new Oxford Chinese-English, English-Chinese dictionary?

2. What do they mean?

3. How big is the new dictionary?

Answers:

1. Popular new Chinese terms such as "shanzhai" "youtiao" and "fangnu".

2. The word "shanzhai" is used to describe the knockoffs of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos.

"Youtiao" is the popular Chinese breakfast staple usually eaten with soybean milk.

"Fangnu," or a "mortgage slave" describes the phenomenon in larger cities whereby well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage.

3. It contains 670,000 words and phrases.

去听写专区一展身手

(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)

Oxford dictionary adds popular Chinese terms

About the broadcaster:

Oxford dictionary adds popular Chinese terms

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn