Another Short History of Linguistics (59)

Sometimes when a writer, especially an internet writer feel a message too boring, he may makes the writing system little bit complex. For instance:

跑步前进 means ‘run forwards’. If change the second character 步as 部and the third character 前 as 钱make the term as跑部钱进they are exactly the same sounds. Yet the meaning changed totally. For the character 步means step and character 部means ministry. The character 前 means forward and 钱 means money. So the term 跑部钱进 means some corrupted officials run to ministry to make money deal with their superior.   

才貌双全 means a boy or a girl that has good talent and good looking. But once change the first character 才 as 财, it still has the same sound but the later character means money, that is to say ‘both good money and good looking.’

There is a joke about homonym. The Chinese term of baby pigeon is 乳鸽 （milk pigeon） and the sucking pig is 乳猪 （milk pig）. Compare these two terms you may understand that the character 乳 （milk） has the extend meaning of small.

The joke in the internet said: once a teacher asks a pupil using the character 乳 making sentence. The pupil said, ‘I was from a poor family, so we have to live in a 乳-house.’ (The乳-house in Chinese term is breast or mamma)

The teacher said, ‘No good, make another one.’

The pupil said, ‘Every day, when I came to school, I have to cross a 乳-groove.’(The Chinese term乳-groove means cleavage)

The teacher turn to crazy and said, ‘Absolutely no way, another one!’

The pupil said, ‘Master, it is pity that my 乳-head could not figure out any more sentences.’(The Chinese term乳-head means tit.)