2020-2021学年度第27期总第821期
New era of expression (P4)
石家庄市第一中学   任晴
Lead-in

Look at the title and the picture. What do you expect to read about in this text?
smartphone
mobile phone screen
letters/pinyin
Chinese characters
question marks
internet slang (very informal words and expressions that are common in certain spoken languages)

era: a specific period of time

Predict: We may read about some internet slang, which marks a new era of expression.

Reading and thinking
1. What do these internet slang terms mean?
sk = shengkuai = 生快=生日快乐
blx = bolixin = 玻璃心
nbcs = nobody cares
扩列=扩张好友列表=可不可以加好友

2. What is the text about? (main idea)
The text introduces internet slang popular among China’s post-00s generation, analyzes reasons behind this phenomenon, and discusses people’s attitudes toward this trend.

3. Why does the author write this text? (theme and purpose)
The author writes to introduce internet slang and motivate readers to think about this phenomenon.

Theme: language evolution based on internet development

4. How is the text written and organized? (structure and language features, words and expressions)
Genre/text type: argumentative writing (议论文)

Language features:
① “Li Junzhang, 19, a freshman …”: Example – clear and illustrative (解释性的)
② “… according to CGTN”: Authorities – convincing
③ “some worry … others are optimistic …”: – Comparison – effective

Reading and talking
1. Do you use internet slang often?
2. If so, what internet slang terms do you and your friends commonly use?
3. What is your opinion about this trend?

Mr Jia Yasen, born in 2005, freshman in senior high school

Ms Liu Jieyi, born in 2002, freshman in college

Trends, including those in language, develop frequently on the internet. They spread quickly via Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, etc. However, slang terms popular at the moment can easily get old in the blink of an eye. There is no need to overstate the power of internet slang, for there is no way that these words will become lingua franca (通用语) for us.
Though it may bring convenience and fun, never follow a trend blindly. Use it reasonably and never use it in formal occasions.
Obey internet convention (公约) and pay attention to internet civilization.

To know more
1.https://ltl-school.com/chinese-slang/
2.http://chinaplus.cri.cn/mychina/ink-and-quill/1410/20180810/168725.html
3.https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/30-trendy-internet-acronyms-slang-need-know-fit/
4.https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-internet-slang/