China Daily reports on new regulations against the mixing of Chinese and foreign languages in media reports:
Under the regulation, abbreviations such as GDP (gross domestic product), CEO (chief executive officer) and CPI (consumer price index), which regularly feature in publications, should either be translated into Chinese or followed by explanatory notes in Chinese.
This includes requiring the use of English place names, people and companies to be translated into Chinese.
The GAPP instructed local administrative departments of publications to employ the “standardized use of foreign language” as a criterion for evaluating domestic publications and warned that those who fail to follow the regulation will be punished.
Some publishers consider part of the regulation as an “unnecessary” requirement that will complicate the publishing process.
“The intention of protecting the Chinese language is good. But in an age of globalization, when some English acronyms like WTO (World Trade Organization) have been widely accepted by readers, it might be too absolute to eliminate them in all publications,” said an editor at a Beijing publishing house, who declined to be named.
