MCLC: Baidu's top ten internet phrases 2011

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Anne Henochowicz <annemh at alumni.upenn.edu>
Subject: Baidu's top 10 internet phrases 2011
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Source: Baidu Beat <http://beat.baidu.com/?p=3515>

Baidu’s Top 10 New Internet Phrases of 2011

Language is in constant flux, subject to the sculpting forces of
individuals, events, products, and any number of other influences. In all
of its ancient glory, Chinese is no exception, evolving with the times to
include terms that are but a few months old next to those that date back
centuries. Baidu has compiled this year’s list of the ten most widely used
Internet expressions. The full list is below, preceded by in-depth
explanations for four of the more peculiar terms.

hold住 hold zhù

At number two on the list, and the only English-Chinese compound, “hold住”
deserves a special look. With the “hold” indicating “hold fast,” “hold
your ground,” and 住 meaning “live,” “stay,” the combination signifies
perseverance, taking charge, being in command of a situation with
self-confidence and conviction. When said to someone else, it can have an
encouraging 加油 (jiāyóu) meaning of “Come on! You got this!” It can also
take the negative form “hold不住”to mean cannot go on, as in: 没有你就hold不
住 = 
“We can’t do it without you.”

Its origin is not exactly clear, though general consensus suggests that it
was coined in Hong Kong in the last 20 years, entering the Cantonese slang
vernacular before making its way to the mainland. However, the word’s
birth date might as well be August 9, 2011, when it became a national
sensation with Miss Lin.

Miss Lin, a 21-year-old actress now known as hold住姐 (“Sister hold住”), is
credited for popularizing the term after her appearance on a Taiwanese
entertainment show. She assumed the hilarious persona of a
fresh-from-France fashionista, overflowing with eccentric style tips to
share with her unenlightened audience. To prove how nothing could shake
her sense of self, she told a story of how she once showed up in a bikini
to a beach-themed party to discover that the theme was in fact Qing
Dynasty. No sweat, she said, “我整个场面我hold住” – “I had the whole scene
under 
control” – and she effortlessly flipped the bikini up onto her head to
make a Qing princess headdress (pictured above). With this 7-minute TV
performance, Miss Lin rose to fame and so did hold住. Click here
<http://v.ku6.com/show/68aWkZgiXgTaCJSI.html> for a look at the clip.

死了就不用写作业 sǐle jiù bùyòng xiě zuòyè

This past September, three 10-year-old girls in Jiangxi Province skipped
school one day because they hadn’t completed their homework. When after a
whole day of work they still hadn’t finished their assignments, one of the
girls had the drastic idea to commit suicide. The three girls climbed up
to the top of a house and, holding hands, leapt off.
The girls survived the fall, and the incident attracted national attention
for their alarming response to a universal student chore. “I was scared to
jump,” one of the girls recalled, “but I was also scared of being punished
for not finishing my homework…I don’t have to do homework if I’m dead.” It
was this last sentence that became famous, ranking number six on the
year’s list of terms.

一潘 yī pān

A “pan” is an invented unit of measurement equaling 1,000 yuan/square
meter. Its namesake, Pan Shiyi (潘石屹), is a major player in Chinese real
estate as founder and chairman of the SOHO company. On October 6, the day
after Steve Jobs passed away, he published a micro-blog post calling upon
Apple to manufacture an iPhone and iPad for under 1,000 yuan, so that more
Chinese people could enjoy the products and pay tribute to Jobs.

It was a bizarre declaration to make immediately after Jobs’ death, and
many people fired back at Pan. One such retort said, “The day that you
die, Pan, your company should introduce houses for 1000 yuan/square meter.
Millions of people would remember you for it.” And so the “pan” entered
the world, as a comical but also convenient form of calculation: “How much
is that house?” “50潘.”

蜗婚 wō hūn

Literally translating to “snail marriage,” this word refers to young
couples that divorce but remain living together for financial reasons.
Statistics estimate that the divorce rate among the 80s generation (80后)
is around 30%. While this number has increased, so too has the price of
houses, deterring divorced partners from physically going their separate
ways after they’ve figuratively done so.

The phenomenon is a product of pressure on couples to get married and buy
a house so that they can leave the confines of their parents. Most of
these young guys and gals tied the knot right after college and received
the support of both families to finance a home of their own. When newlywed
turns into newlyshed, some prefer to stick it out side by side, like two
snails in one shell, rather than confront the hassle of sorting out new
accommodation.

The complete list:

1. 伤不起 shāng bù qǐ – Too delicate to bear a blow
2. hold住 hold zhù – Persevere, stick with it
3. 吐槽 tǔ cáo – To call someone out on something
4. 有木有 yǒu mù yǒu – To have/not have, same as 有没有
5. 卖萌 mài méng – Purposefully try to appear adorable
6. 死了就不用写作业 sǐle jiù bùyòng xiě zuòyè – “I don’t have to do homework
if 
I’m dead.”
7. 互粉 hù fěn – The 互 from 互相 (“each other”) and 粉 from 粉丝 (“fan,” as
used 
in micro-blogging terminology), combined to mean mutual fans
8. 反正我信了 fǎnzhèng wǒ xìnle – Regardless, I believe it
9. 蜗婚 wō hūn – Snail wedding, when a divorced couple continues living
together
10. 一潘 yī pān – 1,000 yuan per square meter

READ MORE <http://beat.baidu.com/?p=3515>