Language Log fan club in China
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We have an ardent group of fans in Shenzhen, a large metropolitan area in the Pearl River Delta, just north of Hong Kong.
The word for "fans" in Chinese is interesting:
fěnsī 粉丝 (lit. "vermicelli made from bean starch, etc.", but now commonly used to transcribe the sounds of the English word)
Comment by Cynthia McLemore upon seeing the above photographs:
this is such a hoot! fans in Shenzhen, China held a Language Log party, and sent pictures. wearing jerseys! such a fun surprise. I’m sure after he finished his stint as quarterback in high school, Mark Liberman never imagined someone wearing a jersey with his name printed on it half a world away :)
Here's a video of some of the action at the LLog party in Shenzhen (hosted at an Argentine Mexican restaurant).
What they say in unison is this:
Shēnzhèn ài Language Log 深圳愛Language Log
("Shenzhen loves Language Log")
As will be demonstrated in the next post, these Chinese fěnsī 粉丝 ("vermicelli / fans") are true believers.
Dagwood said,
June 2, 2018 @ 11:38 pm
What in tarnation!?!
djen said,
June 3, 2018 @ 2:36 am
languagelog has more interest in Chinese Mandarin than any other language; maybe because China is the second world's power.
Bathrobe said,
June 3, 2018 @ 3:41 am
Well, with the way politics is headed in China, they've probably already been rounded up by the local constabulary.
russetvelvet said,
June 3, 2018 @ 5:58 am
Maybe I should start one of these clubs in Guangzhou…
Alex said,
June 3, 2018 @ 6:24 am
@russetvelvet
Hello neighbor! If you are ever in sz definitely ping. Wechat: Cyrusaurelius . open invitation to anyone visiting Hong Kong or Shenzhen.
Dave Cragin said,
June 3, 2018 @ 8:47 pm
When I've given briefing at work about the speed of change in China, Shenzen is a perfect example. The change in its population is nothing like we've experienced in the US:
1979 30,000
1985 350,000
2011 14 million
Source: SCIENCE VOL 333 29 JULY 2011 p. 555 (other sources give different population estimates. Regardless the change in population is amazing).
It's a city I'd definitely like to visit.
Chas Belov said,
June 4, 2018 @ 12:55 am
In the 1993 Cantonese hip-hop album Broadcast Drive Fans Murder by SoftHord, the song 廣播道Fans殺人事件 transcribes "fans" without assigning it to a character and pronounces it "fan-see" (/fænsiː/).