(Listed names are online names)

Wuxin-Luxixin: “What a big fuss! Everyone can understand abbreviations like ‘NBA.’ There is no need to say ‘meizhi lan.’ Likewise, Chinese people can understand ‘CCTV’ (China Central Television). It would sounds weird if we call it ‘Zhongguoyangshi.’”

Xiangqinxiangaidejiazu: “I do not agree with the inclusion of English abbreviations in the Modern Chinese Dictionary. Though the dictionary claims to be updated, it should only include Chinese characters.”

Scholars

First, there is no such thing as a “pure” language. From the point of view of linguistics, the very idea of a pure language is laughable.

Second, we should note that the varieties of the Chinese language as used in Taiwan and Hong Kong have been absorbing English abbreviations for some time, but I don’t think anyone can identify any ill effects from this development.

Lastly, I don’t think there are any practical, efficient alternatives to Roman letters. Let us consider the examples of 维生素 A, B, C, D, E, etc., and then ask the purists “do they have feasible, suitable, and acceptable alternatives?”

(Robert S. Bauer, expert in linguistics, especially in Cantonese)

The journalists’ petition against English acronyms is a typical example of prescriptivism, a set of misguided ideas about language purity and correct usage which are common among lay people.

Acronyms are a case of lexical borrowing, which is part of normal processes of language contact. We can tell that the words are borrowed if the speakers have assimilated them to their own language. For example, DVD is pronounced [tiwiti] in Chinese, with the Chinese sound [w] replacing the English [v]. If such words are regularly used in Chinese texts such as news reports there is a case for including them in dictionaries.

Conversely, English dictionaries also contain Chinese words and phrases. Loanwords from other languages can be a powerful means of enriching the lexicon of a language. Language purists are doomed to fight a losing battle as language change is inevitable and part of a natural evolutionary process.

(Virginia Yip, chairperson of the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, CUHK)