A Sketch of Mandarin Loanword Use from kowtow to gaokao

Abstract

This chapter is a literary survey of the adoption of Mandarin loanwords in English media since the introduction of the term kowtow. The study of linguistic borrowing is limited to loanwords themselves, though some discussion of other forms is given. Moreover, the Chinese loanwords that are reviewed are specifically Mandarin terms, rather than those of other Sinophone dialects, as prior broader studies have included. The principal criterion for selecting such terms is their inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary, though others that could potentially be included in the future are considered. Since recent linguistic borrowing from Chinese to English has largely been in the form of Mandarin loanwords, and scholars generally agree that this shall be the future trend of such borrowing, this survey aims to give a sketch of what the general principles underlying loanword adoption appear to be. The chapter provides a literary study of the use of terms following kowtow, including gung-ho¸ as well as tuhao, gaokao, and jiayou, among others. It should show that while not much has changed since prior studies of Chinese borrowings, we are likely to see a higher use of Mandarin pinyin loanwords in the future. It encourages further studies of borrowings as increasing bilingual contact, particularly through online media, increases linguistic transference between the Chinese- and English-speaking worlds.