Mandarin Chinese 398 55.7
Southern Min Dialect 265 37.1
Hakka 34 4.8
Other dialects 17 2.4
Appendix 2
Examples of the 20 categories of underlying factors accounting for subjects’
acceptability and unacceptability of the nativized patterns 1) Whether the meaning of the pattern is interpretable.
a. Such usage yields more semantic interpretability than that of the standard English.
2) Whether the usage is attention-getting.
a. Such usage attracts the public’s attention.
b. It looks appealing to me, motivating me to find out what the content of the advertisement is (or what the English words are about).
3) Whether the usage is familiar and common (or overused or never heard of).
a. I seem to often hear such type of Chinese style of English.
b. I have got used to it.
c. Such usage has become a convention.
d. English is not so common yet.
4) Whether the linguistic device is innovating or creative.
By innovating or creative is meant that the advertising language is full of linguistic originality.
a. It’s a new invention from the copywriters.
b. Such device reflects nativized creativity.
5) What are the effects, purposes or functions of the advertised product that the advertisement intends to impress on the readers?
a. Simple oral English strengthens the effect of the advertisement.
b. As a reader, the word ‘easy’ gives me a feeling of being user-friendly.
c. Such language device (Chinese style of long English sentences) makes me feel that I am already abroad.
d. Such language usage upgrades the quality of the advertised product and satisfies the readers’ psychology of foreign idolatry.
e. How is it likely that such broken English can yield to the readers any sense of professionalism and any good impression on the quality of the advertised product?
6) Whether the usage copes with the trend of development.
a. Such usage is a fashion of the time.
b. Time is changing.
c. Since this is an e-era, why cannot we use this device?
7) Whether the code-mixing devices are considered necessary and appropriate to
advertise the intended products or convey the message delivered by the advertise-ments. Alternatively, can Chinese-only devices also serve the same purposes? In the code-mixing devices, are the Chinese and English structures compatible to each other?
a. Such English sentences are too long. It makes readers feel bored, impatient and unmotivated to read them.
b. (easy 敷 and easy 抽) Such Chinese-English combination seems to be odd and incongruent.
c. Using Chinese words can equally convey the same meaning as the English mixing. There is no need to use English at all.
d. Such mixing is incompatible with either language; it’s neither Chinese nor English. (不中不西, 不相容, 不搭調)
e. The meaning of the English mixing can hardly be conveyed by the equivalent Chinese words.
f. As long as the meaning is conveyed clearly, there is nothing wrong with using such expression.
g. Since this advertisement of real estate property aims at Chinese audience, the English-only device is not appropriate.
8) Whether the language usage yields a sense of modernization.
a. Such device gives readers a feeling of modernized quality.
9) Whether the language usage yields a sense of internationalism.
a. Such device gives readers a feeling of internationalism.
b. (Code-mixing of English, Mandarin and Southern Min) Such usage can be termed “nativization of internationalism.”
10) Whether the usage copes with standard English grammar.
a. It is too exaggerating that such device follows no grammar at all.
b. Such usage is a word-for-word translation from Chinese structure. It has serious grammatical mistakes.
c. It is only proper for the copywriter to use standard English in creating such English sentences. If he/she fails to do so, he/she is only making himself/
herself a target of ridicule from others.
d. Since it is advertising language, grammatical rules should not be strictly demanded.
11) Whether the device sounds smooth in reading and oral utterances (通順, 順口, 順眼, 順耳) (口語化)
a. It sounds smooth orally.
b. It sounds weird.
c. It is easy to read.
12) Who are the major target audience of the advertisements?
a. Such advertisement aims at the e-generation or young people who appreciate novelty in life.
b. For the consumers whose English competence is not good, they can hardly accept such type of advertising language.
13) What are the types of advertised products?
a. The advertised product is manufactured locally; there is no need to use English in the advertisements.
14) What are the stylistic effects or impressions induced by the language usage?
a. Such device is simple and easy.
b. Such style is too vulgar.
c. Pretty good.
15) What influences may the linguistic devices have on the English learners?
a. It helps readers to learn their English.
b. Such English usage is misleading the general public.
16) Whether the language usage is a pure advertising gimmick.
a. Such usage is only a pure advertising gimmick. There is nothing wrong with it.
b. The copywriter is only showing off his/her English. Such advertising language does not agree with the advertised product.
17) Whether the linguistic pattern is a device of nativiztion.
a. When English usage is nativized, it makes people feel more at ease to accept it.
b. Such device integrates the local culture.
18) Whether the usage copes with the Chinese convention.
a. (Green your heart) The change of word class also occurred in ancient Chinese poetry.
b. To change the class of words is not such a big deal. In Chinese ancient text, such cases were quite common.
19) Whether the device copes with the essence and characteristics of language development such as language change.
a. Language is subject to human use. It has its flexibility and variation.
20) Personal emotional responses without providing any explicit account that can fall into any of the previous categories.
a. It’s not important.
b. Very repulsive.
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