Category Archives: Manacles

China decides that second-best is best

Posted on 23/11/2012 by khanbaliqist

It’s now over a week since China wrapped up the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党第十八次全国代表大会 Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Dì-shíbā-cì Quánguó Dàibiǎo Dàhuì or 十八大 Shíbādà) in Beijing. Predictably, in the leadup to that momentous event, the … Continue reading →

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China blocking Anggarrgoon

Posted on 26/07/2012 by khanbaliqist

Mighty China brings its powerful political and technical apparatus to bear to block access to Anggarrgoon, a site on Australian languages. Anggarrgoon’s sin? It runs a WordPress blog, and all WordPress blogs are blocked in China. Since the Chinese government is … Continue reading →

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Chinese grunge band in Mongolia

Posted on 22/07/2012 by khanbaliqist

Recently (20 July) the Wall Street Journal carried an article by Ron Gluckman about a historic performance in Mongolia by the Chinese grunge band Banana Monkey. As Gluckman says, “What might seem like a few small steps for the globalization … Continue reading →

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布鞋 and шаахайтнууд

Posted on 06/07/2012 by khanbaliqist

Recently I bought myself a pair of Chinese cloth shoes, known as 布鞋 bùxié in Mandarin. In its most typical form, the traditional Chinese cloth shoe is black with a white sole, as shown in the photo below. These are … Continue reading →

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Mongolian exclusiveness (or Жижиг Монгол)

Posted on 05/06/2012 by khanbaliqist

Somewhat over a month ago, UB Post published an article by one Siarl Ferdinand on the topic “They are not True Mongols”. Ferdinand says he has heard Mongolians claim many times that “Inner Mongolians (or Buryats, or Kalmyks, or Hazara) … Continue reading →

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Days of the Week in Mongolian and Buryat

Posted on 23/05/2012 by khanbaliqist

The very first article at cjvlang back in 2000 was Days of the Week in Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. I don’t remember why I chose the topic, but I soon found myself drawn deeper and deeper into an ancient, confusing, … Continue reading →

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Irredentism and Bird Lists

Posted on 11/05/2012 by khanbaliqist

It has long been Chinese practice to include birds of Taiwan and birds of the South China Sea in Chinese bird lists. This is a reflection of Chinese claims of sovereignty over these territories. The oldest Chinese bird list I … Continue reading →

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Blind Spots in Chinese Lexicography

Posted on 09/08/2011 by khanbaliqist

Sibagu.com now has a page on how the meaning of 莺/鶯 changed from ‘oriole’ to ‘warbler’ under the influence of Japanese. This topic was covered briefly at a LanguageHat post in January concerning Sinitic Borrowing; now the background evidence is … Continue reading →

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