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城大公佈LIVAC泛華語地區2021年中文新詞榜

New Chinese Buzz words for 2021 released by CityU

香港城市大學（城大）公佈「LIVAC泛華語地區2021年中文新詞榜」。2021年，除了因新冠病毒疫情繼續肆虐全球而產生不少與疫情有關的新詞外，不少網絡詞語也在平面媒體上出現，引人注目。「躺平」一詞早在網絡上流行，今年更衍生出「躺平主義」「躺平族」「躺贏」等相關詞匯。城大翻譯及語言學系榮休教授鄒嘉彥認為：「『躺平』文化，雖然有人認為與早期美國的『嘻皮士』文化，甚至香港的『廢青』，有異曲同工之妙，但是中國的『躺平主義』有如日本的『低慾望』文化沒有包含暴力傾向，同時，它的出現，也間接地體現了中國已達到了小康之家的水平，因為這種情況，第三世界是不容易出現的。」至於Facebook（臉書）對外公佈更名爲「Meta」，該詞的來源「Metaverse」即「元宇宙」，立即引來平面媒體的討論。東京奧運會更能引發媒體興趣的，當屬選手村裡採用的「紙板床」，外界更多質疑的是其真正的「用途」。中美爭端白熱化，關係進一步惡化，中國嚴正批評美國「以疆制華」及有關的「以台制華」等措施。日本政府宣佈要把福島的「核廢水排放」到公海，相關計劃引發中、韓等日本周邊國家及地區的關注和抗議。

2021年香港政府為應對新冠疫情，採取諸多措施，最獲讚賞的是為香港居民每人發放五千元的「消費券」，既振興經濟，也刺激民眾的購買力與消費慾望。至於要求進入公共場所須掃描「安心出行」，目的為遏止疫情蔓延當然無可置疑，但也引來部份商家及長者的微言。年底推出的「港康碼」，為與內地通關作準備，反應熱烈，登記使用者眾多。討論多年的為70歲降到60歲長者提供乘車優惠的「樂悠卡」也即將落實。環保署設置的「入樽機」，鼓勵公眾交回使用完的塑膠飲料容器。這些利民便民的措施都受到民眾歡迎。

中國大陸的「兩個確立」：「確立習近平黨中央的核心地位和全黨的核心地位，以及習近平新時代中國特色社會主義思想的指導地位」，具有歷史性和決定性意義。2021年年初習近平提出「三牛精神」，號召全國人民，團結奮鬥，開創新局。中央公佈的「減輕義務教育階段學生作業負擔和校外培訓負擔」的「雙減」新政策，可說是教育方針其中一項重大改革，影響深遠。第四届中國國際進口博覽會上推出的「雲招展」，成效顯著，獲得不少國家的肯定，反應良好。為應付因疫情未能回鄉的大量民衆，各地提倡就地過年，「穩崗留工」，讓異地就業人員留在就業地安心過春節。

在台灣，當局為應付新冠疫情，推出發行「五倍券」以刺激財政及消費，有關部門也相對推出「國旅券」「加倍券」「加碼券」等以作響應。不少商業經營者也紛紛推出透過手機感應或掃碼支付的「嗶經濟」「掃經濟」模式搶客搶市，成為「行動支付」的最新消費趨勢。中廣董事長趙少康在中國國民黨內成立「戰鬥藍」團隊，目的透過群組強化橫向聯繫，擬定統一應對方針，達到團結攻勢之效。為應付台灣面臨56年來最大缺水危機，台中、苗栗部分地區實施「供5停2」限水措施，民眾生活大受影響。主要來自美國的「萊豬」話題繼續發酵，有關「萊豬」不得進入校園的「零萊豬」方案，也成了各方爭議的重點。

「2021年LIVAC泛華語地區中文新詞榜」主要源於城大翻譯及語言學系榮休教授鄒嘉彥所開發的「LIVAC漢語共時語料庫」（https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIVAC_Synchronous_Corpus）。新詞榜有別於一般的網絡流行詞語或熱詞、潮語等，是以中文平面媒體數據資料為依據，系統性處理、篩選、分析京、港、台等六個泛華語地區主要中文報章的詞語，兼及各大中文媒體紙印出版物較常使用的各年新詞語，篩選出在當年各平面媒體上第一次出現、具有新意及一定代表性的各領域詞語。「LIVAC漢語共時語料庫」始創於1995年，20多年來定期共時處理超過七億字語料，從而建立了包含250萬詞條的漢語大詞庫。「泛華語地區中文新詞榜」自2004年發佈至今已有17年，「新詞榜」成為記錄時代重大事件的時間錦囊，成為泛華語地區的時代縮影。此外，該語料庫自2001年起，每年都同時統計公佈泛華語地區「新聞人物榜」。

新聞界查詢：
城大翻譯及語言學系榮休教授鄒嘉彥教授（電話：5487 5662）或LIVAC研究員蔡永富先生（電話：4037 0906）

附：詞語簡釋（中文版）

New Chinese Buzz words for 2021 released by CityU

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The Top 5 hottest new Chinese terms are “Lie Flat Approach”, “Metaverse”, “Cardboard Bed”, “Xinjiang as China Stopper” and “Nuclear Waste Disposal” in the Pan-Chinese media of Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei, according to the 2021 LIVAC Pan-Chinese New Word Rosters released by City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

The rosters are based on the LIVAC Synchronous Corpus of Chinese (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIVAC_Synchronous_Corpus) developed by Professor Benjamin T’sou Ka-yin, Emeritus Professor of CityU’s Department of Linguistics and Translation.

They draw on the usage frequencies of the new words in the Chinese-language newspapers of the 3 cities. The following table shows the five most representative new words in the Pan-Chinese context and in each of the three regions in 2021:

Compared to previous years, the new terms in 2021 have been influenced by the COVID-induced economic measures and social events in the Pan-Chinese region more than the sustained political tension between China and USA, as represented by the single term “Xinjiang as China Stopper”. The terms provide useful social and cultural indicators as “The new words appearing in the separate Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan rosters also reflect salient local events and around the world,” Professor T’sou said. 

The new term “Lie Flat Approach” in the Pan-Chinese region is a timely reminder that the fantastic economic developments might have left some behind in China, whose emergence as an economic powerhouse can be confirmed because such an approach does not readily appear in a developing country.

“Metaverse” has appeared quite late in 2021. It could reflect a common wish for a virtual reality which could be idealistically better than the world we have found ourselves in. 

“Cardboard Bed” arises from environmental concerns, but it also reflects wider social issues among top athletics than that highlighted by drug usage in the past.

“Nuclear Waste Disposal” is also related to environmental issues and its common concern is a reminder of the global village shared by us all.

Of the five top new Chinese terms in the Pan-Chinese region, “Xinjiang as China Stopper” is the concern of mainly China and USA, while two others have been triggered by events in China (“Lie Flat Approach”) and in Japan (“Nuclear Waste Disposal”). The other terms (“Metaverse”) and (“Cardboard Bed”) are not geographically focused but reflect common interests on wide ranging issues. The combination of concerns reflects a year in which shared concerns are less obvious than in the past as is reflected again by the small number of Pan-Chinese media personalities to be shortly released.

The LIVAC New Word Rosters are based on the analysis of printed media materials curated in the LIVAC (Linguistic Variations in Chinese Speech Communities) database, and the rigorous analysis of the language used by the Chinese media in the Pan-Chinese region, including Beijing, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The database contains over 700 million characters from the major press outlets in the Pan-Chinese region since 1995, and has accumulated nearly 2 million words in the LIVAC master dictionary.

The meaning and relevant background information on the new words can be found in the appendix (in Chinese only) and the website http://www.livac.org.
 
Media enquiries:
Professor Benjamin T’sou, Department of Linguistics and Translation, CityU (Tel: +852 54875662)