The first “Word on the Street” podcast

ChinesePod is happy to announce the release of our first “Word on the Street” podcast. The WOS podcast was published today in the ChinesePod RSS feed along with our daily lesson. Word on the Street is a regular column in City Weekend Magazine – “Beijing and Shanghai’s essential English guide to today’s China”. As any foreigner living in China will tell you, free publications like City Weekend are more than just recreational reading, they are valuable tools that keep you connected with what is happening in the local community.

The Word on the Street column and podcast are the first results of our new partnership with City Weekend. The magazine is published twice monthly and the WOS podcast will be released on the same day City Weekend hits news stands around China. Word on the Street is not the first time City Weekend has dipped it’s toe into the podcasting sea. They have also been experimenting with the medium. More information can be found on the City Weekend website – www.cityweekend.com.cn.

So what is Word on the Street?

Word on the Street is an attempt to use popular language as a window into modern Chinese society. The “Word” is always highly topical as it has been extracted from China’s cultural, social and entertainment media in real time (give or take a week). The usage of the Word is broken down and its’ relevance explained. Like most of the things we do here at ChinesePod, Word on the Street aims to be both informative and entertaining. We have done our job if you learn something new about life in Modern China and have a laugh or two along the way.

And the first Word on the Street is … Fensi 粉丝

LINK (podcast archive)
http://www.chinesepod.com/podcast/2006/04/06/街语1-apr-6-wos/

The hipster usage of the word 粉丝 is a take on the same word, which actually denotes vermicelli. The modern day take is a phonetic translation of the English word “fans”, indicating a large group of avid supporters. Despite being in the Chinese lexis for some time, mainly the younger generation; 粉丝 has found itself banned from school textbooks. Authorities claim that such a play on words might be misleading and confusing for younger learners, sparking a heated debate on the term in question, along with the evolution of the Chinese language at large.

Sample sentences:

我是NBA的超级粉丝。
Wǒ shì NBA de chāo jí fěn sī。
I am a super fan of the NBA.

章子怡在美国有很多粉丝。
Zhāng zǐ yí zài měi guó yǒu hěn duō fěn sī。
Zhang Ziyi has a lot of fans in the States.

Matt Park 段伟 / Team ChinesePod