When having a Chinese conversation with a friend about the presentation that you have the next day, have you ever used the English word “presentation”?
Dr. Dan Lu from the Language Centre of Hong Kong Baptist University discussed this phenomenon on the 10 April in his UIC lecture titled “Code-mixing and Lettered Words: Impact on Translation Ability”.
According to Dr. Lu, both code-mixing and lettered words describe the change of one language to another during speech. Code-mixing implies the addition of foreign words into sentences, while lettered words, applying only to Chinese, represents the creation of new phrases through the incorporation of Greek or Latin letters.
Dr. Dan Lu at the lecture
The presence of code-mixing and lettered words in Chinese language is largely due to the effects of the Open Door Policy, enacted in 1978, and the difficulties for people to find equivalent meanings of foreign terms, said Dr. Lu. However, it also brought about assets and liabilities to language proficiency and translation abilities.
Some people think code-mixing and lettered words are harmful because they reduce people’s chances of using their native language and, hence, diminish people’s bilingual competence. “On the other hand, they also allow users to better express themselves and make up for their language inadequacies,” argued the lecturer.
Reporter: Chiu Wen Chin
Photographer: Wei Xiao
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC)
