China Online: Netspeak and Wordplay Used by over 700 Million Chinese Internet Users - Softcover

Michel, Veronique

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804844364 ISBN 13: 9780804844369

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

Dive into China's new web-based subculture of tech-savy, subversive netizens with China Online!

Using Baidu, China's form of Google, young Chinese web-surfers are creating their own language on the Internet. With this book, you can get an insider's view of the way the new wave of Chinese youth communicates in code. Author and translator Véronique Michel guides you on a tour of the lifestyles inhabiting modern-day "tribes" on the Internet:

• The "Moonlight" or "Starlight" Tribe
• The "Ant" Tribe
• The "Corporate Insects"
• The "Diamond Man"

China Online describes a youth culture in transition—using humor and creativity to survive in a hugely competitive environment. They enjoy puns—including the ingenious "talking numbers" used to say more things with fewer keystrokes and characters. There is a great deal that lies under the surface. Learn the secret netspeak used by over half a billion of the coolest people in China, and be in the know!

About this title

About the Author:

Véronique Michel is a translator, multilingual netizen, and speaker on multiculturalism and human resource issues. She is a polyglot who has lived abroad for over 25 years including many years spent in Asia. She holds degrees in Chinese, Japanese and several European languages.

Review:

"With its common sayings, popular wisdom, and wordplay, China Online describes a youth culture in transition – using humor and creativity to survive in a hugely competitive environment. There is a great deal that lies under the surface and the ability to look below the surface is a valuable key to facilitate successful communication, Michel says. The book is a fun read for those interested in the modern-day 'tribes' on the Internet." —Shanghai Daily

"To paraphrase a blundering local politician quoted in this book, Chinese must be one of the easiest languages to learn - why else would nearly 1.4 billion people speak it? China Online is an insight into contemporary China's so-called Netspeak, revealing the ability of the country's 700 million Internet users to coin bizarre neologisms." —Japan Times

"The Chinese aren't well understood in general, and the Chinese online world even less so. With China Online Veronique Michel lets us access its language and get to know its speakers." —Herve Cantal, Chinese Language and Cultural Association, Passeport pour la Chine

"Her insight into the cultural power of these words and phrases is spot on – these sayings and practices are as playful and fun as they are deeply meaningful, making them the perfect gateway to finding common ground on social issues. Michel hopes her work will help foster deeper cultural connections in an increasingly globalized world and show people a side of China that they rarely see: its creativity and innovative spirit." —Huffington Post

"Very accessible, and full of Chinese humor! This captivating book is a methodical exploration of the new language codes of the 'ultra-connected' generation... The youth in China are the majority and they understand how to situate themselves in the global village..." —Le Petit Journal, Hong Kong

"Her book sheds light on current events in China and, like a magic broom, clears a doorway to reveal the lives of modern-day Chinese." —Journal of The Chinese Language Teachers Association

"China Online takes us into the unknown world of 700 million Internet users. In her book, which is both serious and humorous, Veronique Michel sheds new light on the most recent developments in Chinese society and demonstrates the extraordinary adaptability of its bimillenary writing." —Alain Labat, Editor in Chief, Planete Chinois (Chinese Planet)

"China Online inventories numerous expressions used on, invented for, and popularized by the users of the Internet. —The Weibo Empire (blog of Le Monde)

About this edition

• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0804844364
• ISBN 13: 9780804844369
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Muller Claude, Koval Sebastien, Lobo Marcio