Pseudo-Chinese
{{Short description|Japanese internet slang using only kanji}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|s=伪中国语
|t=偽中國語
|p=wěi Zhōngguóyǔ
|bpmf=ㄨㄟˇㄓㄨㄥ ㄍㄨㄛˊㄩˇ
|tp=wěi jhong guó yǔ
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|wei|3|-|zh|ong|1|g|uo|2|yu|3}}
|gr=Woei Jonggwoyeu
|j=ngai6 zung1 gwok3 jyu5
|ci={{IPA|yue|ŋɐi̯˨ t͡sʊŋ˥ kʷɔːk̚˧ jyː˩˧|}}
|y=ngaih jūng gwok yúh
|gd=ngei6 zung1 guog3 yu5
|buc=Ngôi Dṳ̆ng-guók-ngṳ̄
|poj=Gūi Tiong-kok-gú
|wuu=hhue tson koq nyy
|phfs=ngúi Chûng-koet-ngî
|hiragana=にせちゅうごくご
|katakana=ニセチュウゴクゴ
|shinjitai=偽中国語
|kyujitai=僞中國語
|romaji=Nise Chūgokugo
}}
{{nihongo|Pseudo-Chinese|偽中国語|nise chūgokugo|extra=pinyin: wěi Zhōngguóyǔ|lead=yes}} is a form of Japanese Internet slang which first appeared around 2009.{{cite news |last1=岡田 |date=30 March 2017 |title=日本でにわかにブームの「偽中国語」、中国で驚きの声 |language=ja |work=Record China |url=https://www.recordchina.co.jp/b173638-s0-c30-d0046.html |access-date=6 April 2017}}
Features
Pseudo-Chinese involves taking sentences which are grammatically Japanese and stripping away the hiragana and katakana, leaving only the kanji behind. This causes the resultant sentence to appear Chinese.
The phenomenon has received attention in China, where Chinese speakers can often guess the meaning of the sentences despite not knowing Japanese. Taiwan's Central News Agency has hailed pseudo-Chinese as a new platform for Sino-Japanese communication.{{cite news|author1=李珍|title=伪中国语走红网友：感觉打开了中日民间交流的新大门|url=http://jiangsu.china.com.cn/html/2016/kuaixun_0220/4195315.html|access-date=6 April 2017|work=China.com.cn|date=20 February 2016|language=zh|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701234725/http://jiangsu.china.com.cn/html/2016/kuaixun_0220/4195315.html|archive-date=1 July 2017}}
This style of writing can lead to idiosyncratic word choices. For example, 非常感謝 (much appreciated) may be rendered as 大変感謝; while 感謝 (gratitude) is common to both languages, 非常 is used as an intensifier in Chinese whereas 大変 serves the same purpose in Japanese.{{cite news|author1=刘娇|title="大変感謝"就是"非常感谢"！伪中国语日本走红(图)|url=http://www.sn.xinhuanet.com/news2/2016-02/20/c_1118105028.htm|access-date=6 April 2017|work=Xinhua|date=20 February 2016|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223002630/http://www.sn.xinhuanet.com/news2/2016-02/20/c_1118105028.htm|archive-date=23 February 2016|url-status=dead}} Commentators on Baidu have noticed the similarity between pseudo-Chinese and Classical Chinese, with such expressions as 貴方明日何処行？({{literally}} Where will you go tomorrow?). This is not a coincidence as the Japanese writing system arose as an adaptation of classical Chinese writing.
See also
{{wiktionary|偽中国語}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Japanese language}}
{{Chinese language}}
{{Internet slang variants}}
Category:Japanese-based pidgins and creoles
Category:Chinese Internet slang
Category:Languages attested from the 2000s
Category:Internet memes introduced in 2009