A comprehensive dictionary of Chinese words used on both sides of the Taiwan Strait was published on Wednesday, much to the delight of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The publication of such a dictionary was one of the campaign promises that Ma made in 2007 as he campaigned for the presidency.
“I’m gratified that my campaign promise has been realized before the end of my second term,” he said.
Chung Hua Yu Wen Ta Tzu Tien (A Dictionary of Chinese Lexicons, 中華語文大辭典) is the culmination of a joint effort by hundreds of academics and language experts from Taiwan and China.
The 101,732 entries consist of 13,004 frequently used words and 88,728 multisyllabic terms and phrases, and examples of how they are used and the differences, where applicable, on either side of the Strait.
For example, instant coffee is called “three-in-one coffee” (三合一咖啡) in Taiwan and “one-plus-two coffee” (一加二咖啡) in China, while a shadow company is known as an “empty-figurehead company” (空頭公司) in Taiwan and a “leather-bag company” (皮包公司) in China.
The book also includes terms specific to Taiwan, such as pan-blue and pan-green, which is used to refer to political parties; tzou lu kung (走路工), or payment for attending a political rally; sao chieh (sweep street, 掃街), a term used to describe door-to-door campaigning; and pai piao (拜票), pleading for votes.
At the book launch at the Presidential Office Building, Ma said there are between 6,000 and 8,000 Chinese words that are most often used, between one-quarter and one-third of which are in the simplified characters used in China.
China initially adopted the use of simplified characters to help reduce illiteracy, accommodate fast and easy writing, and promoting economic development, Ma said, adding that he did not think those reasons still existed or ever needed to exist.
“Do we not have a good economy here in Taiwan, or in Kong Kong?” Ma said. “Yet we have not used simplified characters to achieve that economic development.”
Ma said that although there have been recent calls in China for a return to traditional characters, that is unlikely to happen soon because simplified characters have been in use there for almost 60 years and are now used by more than 1 billion people, while only 40 million people around the world use traditional characters.
However, Ma said the new dictionary is culturally significant and is a product of tolerance, inclusion, juxtapositions and mutual adaptation.
The dictionary is also significant politically, testifying that shelving differences, seeking common ground, working for mutual benefits on an equal footing and cooperating to create a win-win situation will be easier now that Taiwan and China have reached political reconciliation though their consensus on “one China, different interpretations,” Ma said.
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