新加坡英語媒體驚嘆中國人漢語水平下降

新加坡英語媒體《海峽時報》6月30日刊登署名Jason Ou 的文章，題目是：「中國漢語水平下滑（Chinese language standards slip in China）」，文章認為中國人的漢語水平下滑的原因有3個：一是中國人熱衷使用網路辭彙，二是因為英語地位上升；三是因為電腦普及導致的書寫水平下降。該文後面還解釋了幾個網路常用詞：

Magic horse is just floating cloud （神馬都是浮雲）? Meaning: Nothing is worth mentioning.

"Magic horse" in Chinese sounds like shen me, or "everything" in this context. "Floating cloud" indicates "pure imagination". The phrase is used mostly by netizens to express disappointment with issues such as social injustice.

River crab （河蟹）? Meaning: Internet censorship.

"River crab" is pronounced he xie, similar to the Chinese words for "harmony". It is used to mock "harmonious society", which is President Hu Jintao"s pet slogan.

Geili （給力）? Meaning: Great or awesome.

Borrowed from a northern dialect, it literally means "giving power".

Un-geili-vable? Meaning: The opposite of geili; disappointing.Naotaitao （鬧太套）

Made up of three Chinese characters, it is a transliteration of "not at all".

The phrase has been used to make fun of people who do not speak English well, after a Chinese singer mispronounced "not at all" in the English version of the 2008 Beijing Olympics theme song, One World One Dream.

My father is Li GangThis phrase is used to poke fun at the privileged class in China. It became immensely popular after the son of a senior Chinese official knocked down two people while he was drunk. Li Qiming challenged onlookers at the accident scene to take action against him by shouting "My father is Li Gang".海峽時報Jason Ou的文章「中國漢語水平下降」摘譯轉載如下（英語原文附後）：　　參與高考閱卷的教師發現，許多考生都在試卷上使用「神馬」一詞。該詞來自網路流行語「神馬都是浮雲」。越來越多的標準或傳統中文表達方式正被網路語言所取代。一些教育家甚至警告稱，中國或許正遭遇一場中文危機。　　中國教育部近期一份報告表示，寫得像電子郵件或博客的試卷是中文水平惡化的跡象之一，而網路語言的濫用正「削弱中國文化」。　　對於所謂「擬聲詞」———例如「神馬」（聽起來像「什麼」）———的過度依賴，應該被視為錯誤使用中文。該報告稱，30%的北京大學生未能通過中國人民大學組織的一次中文水平考試。在滿分為100分的考試中，70%的學生考分低於70分。中國媒體進行的調查表明，大部分人都認為中文水平下降是一個嚴峻問題。80%的受訪者表示，一場中文危機正在逼近。40%的中國年輕人承認經常書寫錯誤，而70%的人稱他們很難寫一封正式書信。 與語言技巧類似，中國年輕人的書寫水平也在下滑。電腦、手機和其他電子設備的普及，意味著中國人和其他國家的人一樣，都在用鍵盤打字而非手寫。調查發現，只有5%的受訪者給親朋好友寫信，而絕大多數人都靠手機或互聯網。　　教育部的報告認為，除新媒體平台的普及外，中國人對外語尤其是英語的興趣上升，是導致中文水平下降的又一原因。「在大學裡英語比中文更重要，」大學生林家成（音）說，「英語是必修課，而中文是選修課。為找到一份好工作，我們都競相獲得英語證書。」華東師範大學語言學專家潘文國認為，中國的英語教育已走向極端。「幼兒園也在教英語。有些人甚至用英語進行胎教，」他說，「這傳遞出中文是次要語言的錯誤信號。」　　雜誌編輯朱景（音）表示，這導致學生在寫中文時會受到英語影響，有些作家亦不例外。「在自己的母語水平都沒有保障的情況下，這樣推廣英語學習難道不是本末倒置？」他說。　　為改善國人中文水平，中國政府或許要求公務員報考者參加語言測試。「中文危機就是我們的民族危機，」潘文國警告說，「這關係到我們能否保持民族的獨立自主。」The Straits Times SingaporeJune 30, 2011 ThursdayChinese language standards slip in China;Coining of cyberphrases and rise of English language blamedJason OuCHINESE fondness for using phrases common on social media platforms, the rise of English and worsening handwriting as a result of widespread use of computers have left educators wringing their hands.Teachers keep seeing "magic horses" in the college entrance exam scripts they are grading.

The two words come from a popular cyberphrase - shen ma dou shi fu yun, or "magic horse is just floating cloud" - used by young Chinese to mean that nothing is worth mentioning.

Increasingly, standard or traditional Chinese expressions are being replaced by phrases coined in cyberspace.

Indeed, some educationists are even warning that the country may have a Chinese language crisis on its hands.

An Education Ministry report on Chinese language usage last month said that exam scripts written like an e-mail or blog were a sign of deteriorating language skills and that the overuse of newly coined expressions "impairs Chinese culture".

Heavy reliance on similar-sounding words - for instance, shen ma (magic horse) sounds like shen me (everything) - should be considered as the wrong use of Chinese words, according to Mr Zhou Hong, Shanghai"s chief examiner for China"s nationwide college entrance examination.

The Education Ministry report revealed that three in 10 university students in Beijing failed a Chinese proficiency test conducted by Renmin University. About seven in 10 scored less than 70 marks out of 100.

A newspaper poll showed that most people agreed that declining Chinese language standards were a serious problem.

Eighty per cent of those polled by China Youth Daily late last year said that a language crisis was looming.Two in five young Chinese admitted that they often wrote the wrong characters while seven in 10 said they would have trouble writing a formal letter."I learnt how to write a letter in primary school," said postgraduate student Wang Ping. "Anyway, I seldom write with a pen these days."Like their language skills, the handwriting of young Chinese is also worsening, according to 85 per cent of those polled by the influential Guangming Daily.The widespread use of computers, cellphones and other electronic devices means that the Chinese - like people in other countries - write using the keyboard instead of with a pen.

"I hardly used a pen in my university days unless there was an exam," said recent graduate Lin Jiacheng. "At work, everything is done on computers, so who cares about handwriting""

The Guangming Daily"s poll found that only 5 per cent of the respondents wrote letters to friends and contacts. The overwhelming majority reached for their mobile phones or used the Internet.

Aside from the popularity of new media platforms, growing Chinese interest in foreign languages - English in particular - is blamed for declining Chinese language standards, said the ministry"s Chinese language usage report.

"English is more important than Chinese in universities," said Mr Lin. "It"s a compulsory subject, while Chinese is optional. My friends and I all flocked to get English language certificates so we could land a good job."

Dr Pan Wenguo, a linguistics specialist at East China Normal University, blamed China"s English education for going to extremes.

"English is being taught in kindergarten. Some people even promote prenatal education in English," he told reporters recently. "It sends the wrong signal that Chinese is less important."

Magazine editor Zhu Jing said the result is that students writing in Chinese are sometimes influenced by English syntax. Not just students but also some noted writers are affected, he added.

"Isn"t it putting the cart before the horse to push for English learning while the quality of mother tongue education is not guaranteed"" Mr Zhu, who edits Wenyi Zhengming, a well-known literary magazine, asked in a blog posting.In an attempt to raise Chinese language proficiency, the Chinese authorities may require job applicants who want to join, for example, the civil service to take a language test.

Pupils in primary and secondary schools will be taught the correct use of Chinese characters and how to write them, according to the Education Ministry.

"The Chinese language crisis is our national crisis," warned Dr Pan. "It concerns our survival as an independent people."
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