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This morning, I received the following interesting message from Adam C.:

Looking back at that 2019 post ("Amazing new Japanese words" [12/13/19]), I did indeed have a fair amount to say about ASMR, which I found to be quite intriguing:

"There has been global interest in 'autonomous sensory meridian response,' which is said to be a soothing, tingling sensation in the head triggered by auditory and visual cues."

    — From Sanseidō’s Top 10 New Words of the Year for 2019

My favorite [on Sanseidō’s list] is ASMR because, while it is an English acronym that is said to be of "global interest", I've never heard of it.  Moreover, I've probably only experienced the sensation that it describes a couple of times in my life, if ever:

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), sometimes auto sensory meridian response, is a tingling sensation that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. A pleasant form of paresthesia, it has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson.

Wikipedia

Another thing that intrigues me about ASMR is that the vast majority of images associated with this phenomenon are feminine.

I would probably call the closest analogy to this sort of thing that I feel "goosebumps", and I do get them fairly often in the presence of something awesome.

The Chinese Wikipedia page is simply headed "ASMR", and it gives two straightforward translations into Mandarin:

zìzhǔ xìnggǎn guān jīngluò fǎnyìng 自主性感官經絡反應 ("Autonomous sensory meridian response")

zìfā xìng zhījué shénjīng fǎnyìng自發性知覺神經反應 ("Spontaneous sensory neural response")

ASMR is said to be a type of paresthesia, the sensation of tingling or numbness, colloquially called "pins and needles".  I usually hear it used when someone is experiencing heightened expectation

———––—–

Adam C. asked ChatGPT's opinion on the matter.  Here it is:

The phrase 自主性感官經絡反應 is the Chinese equivalent of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).

Meaning

• 自主性 (zìzhǔ xìng) – "Autonomous" or "independent," referring to something self-regulated.
• 感官 (gǎnguān) – "Sensory," referring to perception through the senses.
• 經絡 (jīngluò) – "Meridian," a term from traditional Chinese medicine referring to the pathways of energy (Qi) in the body.
• 反應 (fǎnyìng) – "Response," indicating a reaction to a stimulus.

ASMR describes a tingling sensation, often starting on the scalp and moving down the neck and spine, triggered by soft sounds, whispering, or gentle stimuli. The term suggests that the phenomenon is a self-regulated, sensory-based reaction that some liken to a pleasurable, calming experience.

Etymology

• The English term Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response was coined in 2010 by Jennifer Allen, who sought to create a neutral, scientific-sounding name for the phenomenon.
• The Chinese translation incorporates elements of both neuroscience and traditional Chinese medicine. The use of 經絡 (jīngluò, meridian) reflects a cultural inclination to describe bodily sensations in terms of energy flow, which differs from the Western emphasis on the nervous system.
• The phrase 自主性感官經絡反應 is a fairly literal adaptation, maintaining the structure and intent of the English term while integrating culturally resonant concepts.

In my estimation, ChatGPT has done a worthy job of describing what ASMR is and explaining how it has been dealt with in Chinese.  I am especially pleased that this AI tool has provided romanizations (with tones, no less!) for the technical terms in sinographs, an important desideratum that all but a few humans pay attention to.

Selected readings

• "ChatGPT writes Haiku" (12/21/22)
• "ChatGPT writes VHM" (2/28/23) — fascinating response; who'da thunk?

February 22, 2025 @ 12:08 am · Filed by Victor Mair under Artificial intelligence, Translation

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