How and why do words from one language find their way into another? Vietnamese, for instance, includes many words borrowed or adapted from French, a vestige of colonialism. For example, the Vietnamese word for “train station,” ga, comes...
Greyjing n.— «When it was announced in 2001 that the 2008 Games were to be hosted by Beijing, or as many are referred to it “Greyjing,” drastic action was undertaken to improved its smoky image—it’s just not sport when...
pink-sheeter n.— «China Health Management is a healthcare service provider in the People’s Republic of China. Unfortunately for them, it has been labelled as a “pink-sheeter” for its lack of financial information. So I went...
sang n.— «Since the native ginseng plant, a protected species, is extremely valuable in some Eastern quarters, its demand has given rise to poaching—hunters digging the roots illegally prior to the state-sanctioned harvest season...
donut economy n.— «Economists now refer to the US as having a “donut economy”- it is hollowed at the center, heavily reliant on cheap imports from China, excessive military spending and a corrupted stock market to drive it. The US...
briefcase investor n.— «As for the Chinese, she bitterly refers to them as “briefcase investors.” “They just fill their briefcases with our wealth and leave,” she said.» —“In Africa, China Is Both Benefactor and...