Linguistic purity? Profiling lettered words in Chinese dictionaries

Abstract

Language use in the digital era has lead to the thriving of lettered words in nonromanized languages. Some linguistic purists have concerns for these unwanted alien elements, but using letters directly has become an irreversible process in vocabulary expansion. Lettered words have become a significant part of modern Chinese lexicon. The omnipresence of lettered words has also created a challenge to dictionary compilation. Although lettered words have entered Chinese dictionaries, but what are the selection criteria? How can they fit into macro- and micro- structures of dictionaries? This paper, from social, cultural and linguistic perspectives, probes into a list of 1000 Chinese lettered words from a recently published Chinese dictionary, analysing their origins, word class, and uses in modern Chinese. The findings show that lettered words are formed by ten word formation approaches and can be used as verbs, adjectives and adverbs though nouns taking up 75% of the total. The lettered words are widely used in different genres. The limitations of the lettered word list are also discussed. Drawing on the FUDGE factor analysis by Metcalf (2002), the authors suggest that the inclusion of lettered words in a Chinese dictionary should have practical guidelines for selection, definition, pronunciation and usage. Frequency, unobtrusiveness, diversity of use and endurance of lettered words ought to be taken into consideration.