Specific Features of Lettered Words’ Integration in the Graphic, Phonetic and Grammatical Aspects of the Chinese Language

Tatiana Uryvskaya

doi:10.15688/jvolsu2.2021.1.9

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the specific features of lettered words' integration in the graphic, phonetic and grammatical aspects of the Chinese language. The author has analyzed a number of local and foreign studies, covering the main patterns of the lettered words' integration. Based on Liu Yongquan's studies, it was concluded that it's important to strictly follow letters' case. The case difference can distinguish semantics of different lettered words. Native Chinese speakers with high linguistic competence are able to recognize various lettered words in print, but they may not know how to read them out loud. Therefore, the pronunciation of lettered words is associated with a number of issues: the choice of pronunciation standard, the differentiation of initialisms and acronyms, the choice which syllable to stress. Based on the results of previous research, different ways of how borrowed lettered words respond to the grammatical norms of the Chinese language were identified. The empirical analysis was performed with lettered words extracted by the method of continuous sampling from lexicographic sources. Using the cases described in the paper, the author has proved that in addition to such word-formation processes as compounding, semi-affixation, syntactic and morphological transposition, lettered words can also be formed and transformed with morphological contraction.

Highlights

According to the definition of the Chinese linguist Liu Yongquan, one of the pioneers in this field of research, the lettered words of the Chinese language (汉语字母词) are “the words whose structure includes Chinese characters and letters of foreign alphabets or words completely consisting of letters of foreign alphabets
Despite the fact that the full definition of these lexical items was given only in 1994, we can find many facts confirming that the history of their existence in the Chinese language has more than a hundred years
Based on the data of a sociological survey among native Chinese speakers, which was outlined in the article “Chinese lettered words: barbarism or assimilated borrowing?” in 2019 [Uryvskaya, Veselova, 2019, pp. 431-446], we can draw certain conclusions about high level of communicative tolerance of a part of the Chinese society to these lexical items and effective assimilation of the lettered words in the Chinese language

Summary

Introduction

According to the definition of the Chinese linguist Liu Yongquan, one of the pioneers in this field of research, the lettered words of the Chinese language (汉语字母词) are “the words whose structure includes Chinese characters and letters of foreign alphabets (mainly Latin letters) or words completely consisting of letters of foreign alphabets. The data from the “Chinese lettered words dictionary” by Liu Yongquan, which contains the most complete and systematized list of lettered words of the contemporary Chinese language was used as the research material. Based on the data of a sociological survey among native Chinese speakers, which was outlined in the article “Chinese lettered words: barbarism or assimilated borrowing?” in 2019 [Uryvskaya, Veselova, 2019, pp. 431-446], we can draw certain conclusions about high level of communicative tolerance of a part of the Chinese society to these lexical items and effective assimilation of the lettered words in the Chinese language. Opponents of lettered words call them an unnatural element imposed by Western culture According to their opinion, among many attempts to latinize Chinese writing, lettered words have inflicted the most serious damage on the Chinese language [Dong, 2014].

Results and discussion

Accentuation while reading lettered words

Conclusion