The Paper's special contributor Ge Shurun Ma Qinglong Guest Deng Jianguo Wang Left Center Right Audio Editor Zhang Diqing Ma Qinglong
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Ripple Effect, No. 8
For some time, seemingly empty, even somewhat puzzling signifiers such as "absolute son" and "yyds" have been placed on a variety of things, making the description tend to flatten.
However, the rebellion against the "Absolute Son" also quickly assembled:
"The hour supper 778, is really absolute, good to stomp jiojio, today's fairy business, today and Jimei to buy milk tea, help I really cry to death, this store's milk tea is really yds, puppy dog storm inhalation ..." Netizens who hate the "absolute son" use combination, superposition, appropriation, affectionate recitation and other ways to mock and resist the popularity of the absolute child. As a result, the "anti-extinction" itself has created a new subcultural carnival.
A number of mainstream media have also published articles criticizing the phenomenon of extinction, the proliferation of yyds and the phenomenon of "aphasia of words", "language poverty" and "obstruction of communication" caused by them. The use of the Absolute Son in the present moment with original intent is already regarded as an original sin.
Why is it that our brains are not born to refuse the "absolute child"? Aside from ourselves who use these words, who else has fueled the proliferation of these expressions?
In this issue of the "Ripple Effect" podcast, we try to discuss with the two guests: What is unique about this wave of buzzwords compared to the previous "predecessors" such as "Power"? From the historical perspective, language simplification and new word reconstruction seem to be an inevitable trend. Should we trust the self-purifying power of language metabolism?
Criticism often falls on the demands of ordinary netizens. In the Internet era, how much responsibility do we have for the richness of language?
【Guest】
Deng Jianguo is a professor in the Department of Communication, School of Journalism, Fudan University, whose main research areas are new media and communication theory.
Wang Left Center Right, former international news reporter of The Paper, inventor of "Word News", founded the public account "Wang Left Center Right".
【Anchor】
Ge Shurun Is a special contributor to The Paper
Ma Qinglong Is a special contributor to The Paper
【The following is an excerpt from this interview】
Why is it so difficult for us to refuse the "absolute son"?
The Paper: Why can words like "absolutely desperate" spread so quickly and be extremely addictive to use? What are the principles of communication behind it?
Deng Jianguo: The introduction of the previous host said that absolutely the absolute son is very popular, and it has also caused some people to fight back, as if it is a "war" with a very wide spread and a very high intensity. But I personally don't seem to feel too much about how much of an impact it has, how common its use is, how intense it is. So it may mean that this so-called "war" is only being waged within certain groups. But the whole society is diverse, it is huge, and beyond this circle, it may be difficult for us to realize its existence.
So why is "absolutely exclusive" popular in certain groups? I think there may be several aspects:
One is that it's catchy. Ancient poems like ours in China are very phonological, and such examples as the Five Words or the Seven Absolutes exist for the convenience of transmission. In psychology, there is also a "seven-word rule", whether it is a phone number or other expression, the bandwidth of the human brain generally can not exceed 7, you see before our phone number is 7 digits, so that people can remember, more than one memory will encounter obstacles.
The expression "absolute child" itself has a sense of phonology, and the word count is relatively small, which can be quickly remembered, quickly shared, and quickly disseminated in the Internet era. It is similar to a shortcut of thinking, a trick of memory.
The second reason is that some groups in society need to construct their identities through new expressions, to show their differences, so as to seek people with common identities through a slang language and a common code among all sentient beings. For example, a student can escape the teacher and bypass the parents through some kind of secret language, or he can find his own kind and then enjoy a common identity, thus obtaining a sense of pleasure. This is a bit like the feeling of the ancients "reading forbidden books behind closed doors on snowy days".
An open, accessible culture can hardly give us some kind of enjoyment, but when it becomes subculture, or even a counterculture. From the perspective of morphology, subculture is "culture under the surface culture", and counterculture is "culture opposite the mainstream culture". These two cultures give their owners a unique sense of identity and an added thrill.
From a technical point of view, the Internet can very conveniently cut users, so that a certain information can quickly and accurately find its users, forming interest groups and circles. This is very similar to the spread of a virus – the virus itself is highly contagious, and some individuals are highly susceptible, and the epidemic occurs. The occurrence and spread of cyber memes is like this.
Graph source network
The Paper: I have a deep feeling about the point just mentioned by Teacher Deng: Many Internet buzzwords may be on the one hand to communicate with friends or communicate with the same interesting groups, but at the same time, it is also artificially creating a barrier. I would like to ask Teacher Deng, is this trend of language development deviating from the original intention of language? These expressions do not seem to be building bridges for communication, but building walls.
Deng Jianguo: You asked a very good question. Language is not first and foremost to establish a chasm, but to strengthen the connection and cohesion between groups, which is the main function of a common language. But our group is not monolithic, and in addition to the mainstream language, there are slang languages, which can be used as both a common language and a differentiating language, which satisfies the two needs of a social person:
One is the need for identity. When I speak the mainstream language, I can gain the recognition of the mainstream society. For example, if we speak Mandarin and English today, we can form a unified country and enter the international family and gain international recognition.
But there is another need for people: the need to construct identity, that is, to show their uniqueness in the whole group.
Because of my identity and belonging, I want to be recognized by the mainstream culture, the mainstream society, so I want to say the common language, that is, the common language, so as to have a sense of "we"; but I don't want to drown in the sea like a drop of water, but I want to show my difference and uniqueness. That's when I create ways to tell people that this is something I can contribute, and that's "Me."
Not only the individual is to society, but a country is the same as the international community. For a country to be recognized by the international community, it must use international language, abide by international rules, join international organizations, and work together to accomplish things that are conducive to the common interest. But at the same time, our country maintains its own unique culture and unique language. So there is a tension between nationalism and universalism, and there is also a tension between the use of "big language" and "small language" for the sake of identity and identity construction, respectively.
The buzzword is like "market economy", and it takes vitality to break through the siege
The Paper's "Absolutely Perfect" discourse is popular on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, where users must use exaggerated enough expressions to attract attention and win traffic. In the Internet, making stems and words can often bring huge traffic, and using it can also have a "free ride" effect. As a self-media person and a content producer facing the public, how do you think about the creation of new terriers and new words? Are you consciously involved in content creation?
Wang left and right: The new terrier and new words do have its communication advantages in the current era of social media communication, and everyone does not like some old, clichéd expressions, because there is no novelty, and the content of self-media is still pursuing a new idea.
I know that pinyin and abbreviations like yyds seem to come from some game sites, because their communication areas may not be able to play Chinese characters. Therefore, the production of stems and new words, some are passive, some are active.
I actually created the buzzword eight or nine years ago: double-click. There are 2 strange words in these 4 words. At that time, I was still running the official Microblog of the Asahi Shimbun, when the Japanese prime minister changed, you know, because of the Japanese political system, the prime minister changed often for a while, and then I used the word "double-clicking", and we Chinese read it must be Japan again and again... Changed prime minister.
This word is also used now, when you want to express this kind of how I am again and again... You can use it when you've experienced the same kind of thing.
The Paper: Do you think that the introduction of internet terminology is an inevitable trend? Does the network have a self-purification function that automatically eliminates abusive words, but words that still have vitality are left behind.
Wang Left Center Right: Exactly. In the traditional media era before the emergence of social media such as Weibo, when there were only televisions, newspapers, and magazines, the content producers were a small number of people, and most of these people were the elites of society, such as journalists and experts. But now in this era, everyone can produce content, so the way of production is certainly diverse, and the expression is more and more personalized. This process is actually like a market economy, when everyone participates in economic activities, they must be more and more rich in product innovation, and the same is true for language, people will create more and more, a variety of words suitable for human expression, can more accurately express human emotions, their production is inevitable.
As Teacher Deng just said, some of these words are small-scale, some are large-scale, some will be eliminated, and some will be circulated. For example, the Martian text was also very popular at that time, but because it may be difficult to identify, it may be hot for a while and then slowly stop. But if there are good buzzwords that really reflect the characteristics of the era, including the thoughts and emotions of some groups, then it will stay. For example, "hit the worker" is a popular word in the past two years, it is very much in line with the pulse of our times, reform and opening up to let some people in China get rich first, but the gap between the rich and the poor is also getting bigger and bigger, "hit workers" is one of the less rich people, this word reflects the gap between the rich and the poor, like this word will be very vital. It fits the stage of social development.
Between "embracing" and "criticizing", the contradiction of the mainstream media
The Paper: Many Internet buzzwords will have a process of being absorbed by the mainstream media, because the current mainstream media often want to play the young route, close to young people, close to the trend, and their use of online language is also increasing. Then in fact, there is a rupture in the middle: for the Internet natives, the attempt to use buzzwords to rejuvenate and new media is undoubtedly difficult, based on the well-known propaganda function of the mainstream media and the image of "Wei Guangzheng", misappropriation has eventually become misuse; for Chinese users who are more sinking, farther away from the Network, and lack of critical awareness, these even mainstream media are using words that are rightfully regarded as "good words and good sentences", these popular words from social media, after the mainstream media "endorsement", Merging with the original social media has boosted the penetration of "absolute children" and "yyds" to a wider public.
What do you think of the mainstream media's increasingly conscious embrace of such buzzwords? What is the logic behind this?
Deng Jianguo: Mainstream media have many functions, from the perspective of communication, the media has a variety of functions, including helping members of society to monitor society, coordinating the actions of various groups in society (propaganda and mobilization), cultural inheritance and entertainment functions. At a time when values are very diverse and various social groups are increasingly producing their own "subcultures", the mainstream media may realize the need to strengthen social cohesion and centripetal force, so they want to bring them closer, rather than push them farther away, by pandering to the language of the young people, especially the so-called Generation Z. Therefore, the mainstream media has appeared a kind of discourse innovation, the discourse of youth, networking, cuteness, its main purpose is to obtain the recognition of teenagers through the form of language, to obtain their attention, thereby affecting them.
Sometimes, language is not just a representation and reflection of the culture or mentality of a certain group, it may express both a certain state of the speaker, but also a struggle, a declaration of posture. For example, "hit workers", the group that uses the word not only indicates their identity, but also makes a declaration to people who are different from this identity, when language is actually not only descriptive, but also has the guidance of action, which can produce the effect of "acting with words", and also has a clear meaning in action.
The mainstream media also realizes that this expression of workers has a certain centrifugal force, so it will "recruit security" and put forward the statement of "hello, hit workers" or "we are all hit workers". Originally, "beating workers" expressed a function of separation, but after the mainstream media requisitioned it, it was blunted, and the division of identity became the identity of identity.
For buzzwords, the teenage or subcultural group is very sensitive, they can be keenly aware of the intentions of the mainstream media, and then they will immediately change their strategy and abandon these terms. And other groups, because their media literacy may be relatively weak, media dependence is relatively strong, the source is relatively single, for example, some groups may be more dependent on a certain type of media, then basically will be affected by these media, their agenda is also easy to be set by these media.
So the situation you're talking about is very interesting, and it will eventually lead to language differences between generations, and this difference can sometimes make people cry and laugh. We can imagine a Z-generation child, when he says yyds, it is an oath of identity, and after yyds is expropriated by the mainstream media, the Z-generation children immediately realize and abandon this expression. But his grandparents gained this use of yyds through the mainstream media. Then the next moment, the elderly use yyds to chat with small children. If you observe it on the spot, you will feel very absurd, but after we know the ins and outs of the background, we know that this phenomenon has its rationality.
The Paper: I feel that the expropriation of these words by the mainstream media is like an inflection point in the diffusion of innovation. Once requisitioned by the mainstream media, its former users quickly abandoned the concept or began to use it against it.
Deng Jianguo: These slang or niche languages were originally used to construct identities, and in the process, the identity of the language user must be very close to the language form, and if mixed and matched, it will produce an absurd comedic effect. Therefore, the relationship between identity and language is very close and cannot be used in a completely cut-and-out manner.
Of course, some commercial institutions will also requisition some popular cultural symbols to put into the goods, and have also achieved certain results. But the elemental symbols of that subculture are refined, have jumped out of the microscopic, primitive user base, and to some extent have gained relatively wide recognition.
The main reason why the expression "hit the worker" can continue to be used and recognized within a certain space and time range is that it was not born in a very small group that has nothing to do with the mainstream, but actually represents a social emotion and a social psychology to a large extent.
The Paper: So the merchants who use these stems have actually become a booster.
Deng Jianguo: Yes, this is a bit like the big money and rubbing hot spots, what is the principle?
Just now Teacher Wang said that now everyone can produce content, but attention is scarce, the so-called big money or rubbing hot spots, is to use the attention that already exists in the market, and then like a hitchhiking, it has become a kind of free advertising (free advertising). At this time, I don't have to start from 0, spend a lot of money to buy, to create this kind of attention, if this attention is potentially on a hot spot, then my content production rubbing hot spot is equivalent to me taking a ride, free occupation of the attention attached to the hot spot, thereby reducing the cost of my own attention.
The Paper: As a former media person, how did you deal with the intrusion of such buzzwords during your professional media career? How do you tell what kind of distance you should keep from these buzzwords?
Wang Left Center Right: I was basically 10 years ago in the traditional media, so at that time, buzzwords were not so widespread, but I was actually more repulsive to the mainstream media using expressions like yyds. Let me first say the simplest reason, a few years ago There was a language specification in China, you will find some English abbreviations or something, has rarely appeared in the media, we are not allowed to use some English abbreviations, you need to use Chinese expression, yyds although it is pinyin, but in essence it is still in the English alphabet, I think the nature is similar, since that you are excluding, why use this?
I can make two analogies, one is to make an analogy of language and content, one is to put language and music, the current pop language is equivalent to the content of the nipple music content, that is, it is very much like Teacher Deng just said, it is very easy to receive, in music, for example, like the northeast shouting mai, it is also very easy to receive, Lang Lang wound, I think the nature of these two nipple content, northeast overseas those two nature and popular words are the same.
I think there is no high or low content, no high or low music, no high or low language, as long as someone uses it, it is reasonable. But just because there is no distinction between high and low does not mean that it can be abused. When the mainstream media uses yyds on the headline, I would like to ask, is it also allowed to suddenly come to a shout mai at the Spring Festival Gala or on any occasion of the Eight Classics? Is it to get Generation Z, or to get the approval of the Northeast compatriots, it can be like this?
The Paper: Do you think this kind of "self-degrading identity" has been lowered a bit too much?
Wang Left Center Right: I think there is a little bit of an imbalance.
The Paper: You think the mainstream media should still maintain a relatively serious public image, right?
King Left Center Right: Right. I just said that now our information is market-oriented, and there are more people producing it, so there will be all kinds of information. I call these languages information products, and they're like physical products. In the process of marketization, it is necessary to have an invisible hand to let it develop freely, but it also needs a tangible hand to carry out macro-control. I think that in the language information market, these spontaneous buzzwords also need to be regulated by tangible hands, otherwise I think the development of this market will be deformed.
Maybe eventually, this "market" can achieve a dynamic balance, such as mainstream media inclusion, authors like me criticizing them, and so on, but sometimes, the addiction and diffusion of "nipple music" content is very strong, and if there is no stronger force to balance, I think it may be more unbalanced.
The Paper: In fact, we also observed a more interesting phenomenon a few days ago, as Mr. Deng said earlier, the mainstream media will consciously use de-softening this kind of rebellious subcultural vocabulary, for example, we can see that some mainstream media agencies in the previous reports on the Tokyo Olympic Games, will also use yyds, absolute children to praise our athletes. But on the other hand, as you just said, the mainstream media will publish articles criticizing this phenomenon because they want to balance the spread of this buzzword. This leads to a paradoxical landscape.
Using "yyds" less is friendly advice and not acting as a language cop
The Paper: There are some views that I use these stems in a relatively niche or more personal space of expression, and different situations determine the legitimacy of using this popular language on the Internet.
Deng Jianguo: I think of course it is legal. If we look at John Locke's theory of linguistics, everyone is the master and master of the language used. He believes that when humans use language, they can use arbitrary words to express the ideas that exist in their minds, which is where the sovereignty of a person lies.
Our sovereignty over linguistic expression is equivalent to our processing of a certain part of nature through labor, and then as the result of processing labor, I have the corresponding personal property, so I have sovereignty over the fruits of my labor, as well as over my private property. Correspondingly, from a linguistic point of view, I take the external vocabulary and paste it on my internal idea, which is also within my sovereignty.
However, when we say that we want to promote a culture of goodness and a culture of quality, we are not depriving certain people of the right to express their particular feelings through certain languages and to use them on a small scale. This has not yet reached the level of denial of rights and protection of certain rights.
Also, I don't think it should become a matter of identity politics. As a university teacher, I advocate that we need to have a standardized language expression, to express our feelings fully, normatively, and even gracefully in a language that as many people can understand, which has nothing to do with rights or the identity of the user himself. We talk about the expressive effects of using this language, about its inheritance of culture, about the efficiency of its communication, and so on. This is not identity politics, but a discussion about whether we need to express ourselves in a normative, standard, and communicative language.
The Paper: What you mean is that in the same situation, he has a better way of expressing it, and then we should not choose this marginal path.
Deng Jianguo: You used a word called "should and should not." I don't think there's a very strict should and shouldn't, it's just a proposal. We (including those who use YYDS) as intellectual, well-educated people, advocate a mainstream, normative language to express, which is free. Certain special groups, at special times, express themselves in the language of their own small circle, as long as they do not harm others, they are completely free. What we're talking about here today is not to be a language policeman, to constrain all groups with high-minded norms.
There are two schools in the field of linguistics, one is descriptive linguistics, and if I make up a dictionary, as long as it is an objectively existing expression of language, I think it is reasonable, and then I will include it in the dictionary. We know that the function of the dictionary is to precipitate and inherit culture. If a large number of people are accepting this statement, then the role I can play as a starting point compiler is not to be a language policeman to judge them and choose them.
The other is normative linguistics, thinking that I am the language policeman as a dictionary compiler, I represent the standard, and then I am now holding a ruler to measure all language use behavior, I think your non-standard I will eliminate it, so the purpose of compiling this dictionary is to leave the essence of human language and approved precipitated language expressions.
I have no position between these two factions, preferring to let various forms of verbal expression fend for themselves. A lot of vocabulary, it has vitality, can be recognized by a wider range of social groups, then it will precipitate. Then there are some, such as the Martian text just talked about, which has no communication itself, and the circle of identity is relatively small, and then it is eliminated by itself. So there is no need to rush, the vitality will settle down. Like the pidgin English spoken by the early Chinese, such as Long time no see, and Chairman Mao's paper tiger, paper tiger, eventually entered English. We are all users of language, and everyone will continue to use it when they feel good, and when the crowd that receives it reaches a certain size, it will settle down.
Yyds meme on "Talk Show Convention".
The Paper: I would like to ask Teacher Deng, is the rapid spread of "absolute literature" with gender bias? In the "anti-extinction literature", there are a large number of symbols, all of which point to the consumption habits and expression habits of women. Such as taro mud milk tea, Disney, such as jiojio, star eyes, Jimei, fairy business and other rice circle discourse. Do you think that the popularity of "anti-extinction" contains a certain degree of "misogynistic" social symptoms?
Deng Jianguo: Different groups of people will read different intentions from the same phenomenon, and it is likely that the communicators do not have so many intentions, and then the recipient combines his own situation and psychology, and then he will think a lot. This is related to the "Identity politics" I talked about earlier. There is a phenomenon all over the world, that is, it is increasingly difficult for us to jump out of our own identity to conduct public discussions, whether my identity is male, female, Northeastern, Shanghainese, Hunan, Chinese, American, Fudan, Jiaotong University, two books, one book... The identity of everyone in the whole world is different, can find a difference, if we think purely from the perspective of our own identity, and we lose the ability to jump out of our own identity, and then relatively objective neutral to look at and evaluate something, the world will eventually be fragmented, can not be bridged. For example, men and women are biologically very different, and if you decide your position based on your physical characteristics, then it is impossible for men and women to agree. If you choose your own position just because you are an American and I am Chinese, then there is absolutely no way that China and the United States can reach an agreement. This is the sadness of identity politics.
In addition, this situation is not unique to women, and may be used by men. I interpret it as a kind of "escape from freedom," that is, to escape from growing up, to avoid the responsibilities that accompany growing up. The cuteness and childishness of words and deeds are like sending some message to the outside world: don't come to me, I don't want to take responsibility, I can't take responsibility, I don't necessarily do a good job of this thing, and so on.
How does language affect a people?
The Paper: Do you think the widespread use of such cute languages undermines public discourse?
Deng Jianguo: I personally feel that this has greatly damaged public discussion. From a cognitive psychology perspective, we are easily trapped by this absolute language, that is, the upper edge path and shortcut of memory, which works the same as stereotypes and stereotypes - labor-saving but biased. When we look at the absolute words every day and listen to the absolute sub-language, this language often echoes in our superficial short-term memory, and when we write, these languages will be easily called out by us.
Just like when we were in line in the canteen, if I had not had time to go forward, the fast-moving classmate would rub in front of me with an arrow step, if the queue we lined up in the canteen to buy food is imagined as the process of our memory processing, the queue is a variety of language expressions, then those who run the fastest will usually be the easiest to buy food. When the absolute language is repeated by the media, by friends around us, etc., it is always at the top of the list of our memories. I didn't even think about it, it flowed out of my keyboard, when I took the title, I didn't have to spend extra brains to think of a better title, yyds naturally flowed into the title, which caused us to become lazy people thinking. When we are not willing to call up more minds to think of a more appropriate title according to the specific content, specific audience, and specific situation of an article, when our brains are occupied and hijacked by languages such as yyds, over time, it affects the quality of our language.
We often overuse yyds to express what should be diverse content or ideas, and it has a kind of overwriting or even deletional nature. Our original expression may be very rich, full of texture and diversity, but when yds comes, it will completely cover the precision and diversity of expression, and the public expression is full of jokes and ambiguities. When you're always in yyds, I don't know what you're really trying to say, are you complimenting me? Or are you being sarcastic about me? Or are you using a script just to deal with me?
Needless to say, this expression is mainly the expression of emotion, the expression of rarely rational real thought, it is only a catharsis, an exclamation (exclamation), usually followed by an exclamation mark. It doesn't have much meaning in itself, and the feelings expressed are very simple and pale.
In Douban's "Word Aphasia Mutual Aid Alliance", many team members want to find a less cookie-cutter way of expression. Infographic
The Paper: But at the moment, using absolute and yyds may be able to get traffic, hollowing out some expressions tailored to get a lot of clicks, which may be the sadness of media people in this era, I would like to ask Teacher Wang has had such an experience?
Wang Left Center Right: I don't bother with this, I basically don't use these buzzwords in the title, but actually what I do now.
I first made Chinese characters, but now I have broadened them, mainly doing things that rejuvenate traditional Chinese culture. So I will write a lot about traditional Chinese culture, mainly including the four masterpieces. I found that on the opposite side of these buzzwords just spoken, there is also a good phenomenon, that is, the revival of traditional culture, and more and more people are beginning to like some expressions in traditional culture. Language is actually how to express the ideas in the brain most accurately and precisely, we do not have to look for innovative buzzwords, these things are even in a sense to seek the near and far. When you dig into some of the poems and other expressions of the ancients, you will find that there are actually many expressions in them, which are more accurate and more meaningful than modern texts. If it is popularized, I think it will be conducive to enriching our current way of expression, the depth of expression and the expression of artistic conception.
The Paper: That is, there are many other ways to cater to young people and make young people like them, in addition to using their new words?
Wang Left Center Right: They have their circles and languages, and we can also use some languages that we feel are more suitable for human expression, which we can create ourselves, or we can cut them out of the wisdom of the ancients, and then use our influence to use it, which in turn affects young people. If we can always have such a "tendon" and lean on this aspect in our daily life, we can also change the language ecology or language environment of the current Chinese.
The Paper: Do you think that as a self-media person, this is a responsibility?
Wang Left, Right: Saying that the responsibility is a little heavier, I selfishly feel that it can bring me a sense of pleasure, and I am happy to write these things, not because I don't like it, but because of a sense of responsibility to vigorously promote this thing. I first depend on myself, I think these things are good, and then of course I also judge the market for my content, and if I feel that there is a market for what I write, I write it, and then by the way also affect some things, it is perfect.
I think that although there is no distinction between good and bad, language will affect people's thinking in the process of daily use. I give an example that happened to myself, I used to learn Japanese, Japanese and Chinese, English has a big difference, when speaking English, the mouth is wide open, but when Japanese is pronounced, the mouth is very small, even a little cringe, when the mouth is not so open, whispering, the language will cultivate a not so aggressive personality, so that you have some restraint in personality, some humility. So, we are talking about language on the surface, but in fact we are talking about people's thinking patterns, behavior patterns, which may affect a nation in a big way.
Language flow from "top-down" to "bottom-up"
The Paper: I would like to ask you, as a person who has been exporting content for a long time, will you consciously resist the erosion of buzzwords at a time when buzzwords are constantly being renovated? What do you usually do and what specific measures do you take?
Wang Left Center Right: There is also a distinction within buzzwords, and I will also use buzzwords, but I will choose buzzwords that I feel are better within my cognitive range, rather than using some products that I think are the product of lazy thinking. I don't look at buzzwords as a whole, but I don't look at what it is.
The Paper: I would like to ask Teacher Deng, as a communication scholar, when you are writing academically, will such buzzwords involuntarily flow to the pen? Do you consciously adhere to certain standards of writing?
Deng Jianguo: I rarely have such a situation. If the "absolute child" has always been in your head, and then you can jump out quickly when writing, the premise is that you are constantly exposed to these buzzwords, that is, they produce a priming effect. But I've always been exposed to academic language, so it's easier for me to get to academic language. For my group, our buzzwords are not unique, we also have academic buzzwords, such as "trapped in the system", "digital labor", "aesthetic labor", "emotional labor", etc... These terms are very new at first, but when they are said too much, they have become clichés, which is the best in our academic community.
Today we recite ancient poems, which we think are scarce, beautiful and elegant, but perhaps in the time of Su Shi and Bai Juyi, they may also be popular buzzwords among ordinary people, catchy, known to women and children. But the buzzwords of that time were created by the literati, accepted, appreciated and praised by more literati and ordinary people, and popularized the high-quality culture that flowed from top to bottom, rather than doing the opposite, like some of today's unnourish expressions dating back to the mainstream media. This is dimensionally reduced, not elevated.
Wang: I think the biggest challenge now is that from ancient times, including possible to before the advent of the Internet, all languages were top-down, but because the distribution of content is now completely decentralized, there has been bottom-up flow.
Deng Jianguo: Bottom-up is not bad, and denying bottom-up (the flow mechanism) is an elitist way of thinking. Collective intelligence is remarkable, and the creativity of netizens can often bring us unexpected surprises, such as we sometimes look at the comment area of Weibo and think that netizens are too talented. I think [cultural creation] is a process that goes in opposite directions, and there are many things in popular culture that can be distilled into high-quality culture, accumulated, and passed on. I agree with the pluralism and popularization of cultural creators.
The Paper: I think that no matter which era, no matter how the channels of circulation are broadened, whether it is from top to bottom, from bottom to top, precise, rich and diverse, these qualities are good, and should be an unquestionable consensus. I would like to ask Teacher Wang, how do you think as an ordinary netizen today can balance buzzwords and serious expressions? What kind of survival strategy is there?
Wang Left, Center Right: If you are an ordinary netizen, I think it is how happy you are. Some influential intellectuals can think more about this problem and then choose some richer, more precise, and more nutritious expressions in the process of using their own language.
Deng Jianguo: I very much agree with Teacher Wang, who is a language promoter, a practitioner, a compiler and refiner of various new language phenomena. I think that no matter what position you are in, especially people like our culture, we must first get rid of this kind of assumption bias and look at various grassroots language phenomena with an elitist perspective of looking down from above. We want to act as communicators and bridges between elite culture and mass culture, constantly paying attention to emerging language phenomena, commenting, combing and refining them.
Those particularly good language phenomena and expressions can "work together" to precipitate them through a variety of filtering mechanisms such as editor recommendation, algorithm screening, and recommendation by intellectuals and media people. I believe that people who use the most absolutely sub-language also have a sensitivity of their own. Only when we understand each other and cooperate together can it be possible that our language will have vitality and will continue to innovate.
Editor-in-Charge: Jiaying Wu