Thaindian News

Beijing, April 20 (IANS) For those looking to “colour up” their Chinese language, a Chinese author has written a book on slangs with chapters on “behaving badly”.
Eveline Chao’s “Niubi - The Real Chinese You Were Never Taught in School”, has chapters on “internet slang” and “behaving badly” that offer adult readers a way to “spice up” their everyday dialogue, the People’s Daily reported Monday.

“The key to learning any language well is to create real interest. If you’re just talking Mandarin to earn a college credit, you won’t take it very seriously. These kinds of words help make the language much more fun,” the 30-year-old author was quoted as saying.

Learning slang allows you to discover Chinese culture, because many casual sayings and expressions are lost when written, she said.

“Written Chinese is extremely formal and almost completely different from spoken Chinese. It’s interesting to see how Chinese people really think and how they really speak,” she said. “Like almost everyone who visits China, when I go out with my friends, I bring a notepad and pen to jot down interesting words or phrases,” Chao said.

Chao explains in the introduction that her encounters with her late night friends resulted in her notebooks being filled with colourful phrases.

The research for the book, she said, was much harder than most people thought, often requiring a huge sacrifice of time and sleep.

“I would receive calls at around 1 a.m. from friends telling me they were hanging out with a DJ or someone else I had wanted to interview for the book. I would have to drag myself out of bed, get dressed and go,” she said.

A year and several notebooks later, Chao had a collection of less-than-savoury phrases and sultry slang. However, it wasn’t until a publisher in New York contacted her that she realised the potential of her late-night scribblings.

Initially, Chao said the book targeted American students studying Chinese in the US, who were looking to expand their more unconventional vocabulary.

“People living in Beijing might only know a standard set of Beijing slang; so for them, it’s a kind of learning experience,” she said.

Chao said the chapter on “internet slang” was one of the most educational chapters in the book.

China as a country is so regionalised that many of the words were only understood by locals. “The internet, in a way, helped bridge these sub-cultures. Slang words are important for culture and are more than just interesting ways to express emotion. They often have deeper social and economic implications,” she said.

While the book may not be found in high school classrooms in the near future, for adults looking to “colour up” their Chinese language, this book is one to swear by.