Chinese-born English words will go big(4)

　　Photo: Globaltimes.cn

The adoption process of English words with Chinese roots

Various English words of Chinese origin have been absorbed in different ways, including transliteration, free translation, partial transliteration plus a generic affix, or other methods. For example, Taikonaut is a combination word from Chinese Taikong (Space) and Greek's nautēs (voyager). And a translated Chinese phrase "long time no see" is now an English expression used as a greeting by people who have not seen each other for a while.

Meanwhile, Chinese-born English words need to go through a strict verification process before entering the English dictionary. Julie Kleeman, project Manager of Bilingual Dictionaries with the Oxford University Press, noted that Oxford's English language experts would need to see evidence of a Chinese buzzword in use across a range of English media and over the course of a period of time when they are considering including it in the Oxford Dictionary.