What does SB stand for in Chinese?

hi Bodawei

in case you're interested, SMERSH is not a true acronym.

it is a contraction of the Russian phrase: Smert' Shpionem, which means Death to Spies.

but you're right that it is fictional, it was created by Ian Fleming for his James Bond books

I have a DVD set of "Thunderbirds" (雷鸟神机队). That's classic.

Hi Changye

My education is sadly lacking; I 'grew up' largely without TV so missed the first runs and have never caught up with it. I did like the Thunderbirds though, same producers. The aliens were after human organs eh, .. :) [I'm not going there.]

Reminds me a little of SMERSH, which I took to be another fictional acronym. Looking it up (showing remarkable reserve) I am surprised by two things - 1. SMERSH was dinky-die (Australian for real). 2. An acronym can borrow more than one letter from each word, so there you are.

HI sydcarten

I'm very happy to hear that. I have the DVD sets of remastered UFO series.

I used to love UFO when it was screened here in australia.

Unfortunately it disappeared without a trace and was never repeated on australian TV

Hi bodawei

My most favorite Si-Fi TV series is "UFO" (1970, British). In this series, the secret Earth defense force is named "S.H.A.D.O.", which stands for Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization. I think this is also a good example of your "cute acronym first" theory. Can you believe that I, a non-native English speaker, could write these words when I was a primary school student? hehe

http://myfavoritetv.110mb.com/ufo/shado.htm

http://ufoseries.com/

Changye - you are absolutely right - they are easier to decipher than English acronyms and therefore they are less in the category of 'jargon'.

An English acronym (strictly speaking) is the first letter of each and every word in the expanded phrase - that is the distinction I was drawing. It is not hugely important. Also, and this is perhaps more important, sometimes the expanded phrase is manipulated to make the acronym more cute. It is like you decide the cute acronym first, and then find some words to fit the acronym. Some acronyms are so old and well established that few people remember the underlying phrase or name!. Eg. QANTAS. I don't object to these - I object to those that are not understood by ordinary people.

PS . I guess this should be one of the reasons why you think "I don't object to Chinese abbreviations as much as English acronyms".

PS2. > The language (Chinese) is already abbreviated enough.

You can say that again!

Hi bodawei

> the Chinese tend to use abbreviations more than actual acronyms, agreed?

Do you mean that “美职篮”, for example, is not an acronym but an abbreviation? If so, I agree with you. I confused acronym with abbreviation.

Chinese characters are logograms. Therefore acronyms/abbreviations in Chinese are much easier to infer their meanings than those in languages that employ phonograms are.

It's very obvious if you compare “美职篮” with NBA. I wonder how many people can tell the exact meaning of NBA without context when they see the acronym for the first time.

In this sense, Chinese abbreviations can't be good jargons since they are relatively easy to "decipher", hehe. I would use completely different words as jargons.

BCG is a useful acronym, even for me, because I think that hardly anyone would know its derivation!

BCC - Brisbane City Council??

BBC - Brisbane Boys College??

Actually, your Chinese examples are close to being acronyms but not quite; the Chinese tend to use abbreviations more than actual acronyms, agreed? Strangely I don't object to Chinese abbreviations as much as English acronyms - both Chinese and English acronyms/abbreviations are often used as jargon, which intentionally or unintentionally exclude people who are not 'in the know'. But Chinese abbreviations are a learning experience for me, so it is fun trying to work them out.

Eg. Seen at the bus station yesterday, a column on the board 车型 - the various brands, types of buses (very important in China). Fun trying to work out what they mean.

Personally I don't hate to see English acronyms used both in Chinese and in Japanese, partly because they are noticeable/conspicuous, but probably my parents don't like them. To my parents, most English acronyms are completely foreign words. They know BCG, but never know what BCC/BBC are.

Chinese is a language that is very good at making acronyms of their own. For example, NBA can be translated as “美职篮” (= 美国职业篮球联赛), and “中共” is the acronym of “中国共产党”. Therefore I don't think that "purging" English acronyms is difficult for Chinese people.

Chanye

I have heard of this from two of my Chinese teachers. One thought it was foolish; the other seemed to support it. The guy who supported it said to me, "But those acronyms are not Chinese." I told him that English is loaded with borrowed words, and it doesn't bother anyone. Acronyms are simply very convenient in some cases. (Sorry Bodawei :-) .) I then added that most Chinese people are familiar with pinyin, so the acronyms should be no big deal.

I figure it will be just an excuse to easily filter out such acronyms such as 'SB'.

But you are right, it will benefit those of us who want to really learn Chinese. I have been trying to say 自动取款机 instead of ATM lately, 啊啊.

Looks like the Chinese authorities are now trying to reduce the use of English acronym, such as MBA, GDP, and WTO, in Chinese, which I think is not a bad thing for you western guys who study Chinese diligently.

《电视节目禁用外语缩略词 "NBA""GDP"央视禁用》

http://news.xinhuanet.com/ent/2010-04/07/content_13311961.htm

I was going to say we're a weird mob...which reminded me of the book/film of the same name..by john o'grady ..which reminded me of other aussie authors...steele rudd..wonder if he's related? [and if so ,what dad ..hey..I suddenly like baba more,hehe..would have had to say]

I noticed that, :)

I don't think I could be drawn into defending Ruddy, even if he is a Queenslander, and needs protection. Anyway, Big Kev has got a dog to look after him apparently. Can tell 10 minutes before the Prime Ministerial phone call announcing imminent arrival. Ah, you gotta love a dog.

hehe,don't use it on him mate..use it on his president..it upsets 'em more you'll find ;)

Xiaophil

Damn, you've nearly given me the excuse I've been waiting for. (I don't have to be polite to foreigners here.) ;)

hehe,well it made me laugh anyway so thanks mate ;)

Bodawei

O, thx for the FYI. SRY, I had no idea some ppl, i.e. u, don't appreciate it. NOM.

886

(Okay, I admit that I'm not funny.)

Yeh, acronyms are a pet hate (and I may have given Jenny Zhu a hard time on occasions because she seems to love them) - but acronyms in Chinese are beyond the pale. The language is already abbreviated enough. But this one, sb - I'll pay that. Just have to think of a situation in which I can use it. I'm on my best behaviour in China.

xiaophil,

Actually you were perfectly clear and I knew exactly which version of sb you were referring to [so it was I who was not clear]. Even on the thread you linked to though there were other postulations and it did remind me of our mate bodawei and his penchant for acronyms,hehe ;)

Baba

I'm not sure if I made myself clear. I now know the meaning, but it is a bit more vulgar than I imagined. If you don't mind a little adult Chinese, click on the link above and look at the first reply. And why did I think of this? A Chinese person called Obama an SB on a comment section I looked at. Grrrrrr...

hehe,where's bodawei?..he loves these acronyms. Looks like context is even more important when it comes to acronyms.....after your recent discussion about facebook I noticed that a common use of sb on facebook was apparently single blonde [along with the more common..somebody].

oops, nevermind!

Thanks Pretzel, but I'm not talking about that. It is an acronym for two characters that are often blocked on Chinese websites, i.e. a way around a filter.