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Chinese language, more descriptive or prescriptive ?


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Posted

One of the things that bothers prescriptivists in the US is when nouns are used as verbs (despite that this has happened for 100s of years).  Does the use of nouns as verbs in Mandarin bother Chinese prescriptivists too?  

 

Both languages readily use nouns as verbs.  One example:  In both Mandarin & English, help (帮助) can be both a noun & a verb.

 

Old examples in English, ~100 years ago "copy" and "worship" were nouns in English.  More recently, "email" began a noun, but now is also a verb.  There are countless examples of this.   I wonder if these changes bother Chinese prescriptivists.  

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

Posted

Chinese language is flexible. ? That's why .. I don't think so.

 

In German:
to help = helfen
help [noun] = die Hilfe
You see ... the eyes/ears see/hear the difference.

 

A language lives ...
BTW .. I were one week in London, NewYork & Hongkong.
Nevertheless ... I can read/write in English. But not in Chinese .. ?
 

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