Mar 19, 2008
Ping-ponging in China? Heed this language lesson.
Matt: Mike, does “ping-pong” mean anything in Mandarin?
Mike: Um…no…well, actually, yes…it could be translated, “flat-fat.”
(Ping-pong’s real etymology.)
Update: Be sure to read the comments. They’re way more interesting than the post.
So, I wonder what the etymology of the Chinese: “ping pang qiu” meaning “table tennis” is.
I suppose it was transliterated from the English, but I wonder where the actual characters come from since “ping” and “pang” both kinda look almost the same. . . they must be “place holders” for sounds only.
Hmm . . .
Mike, Amanda’s question is for you, I think. I’m not much help here.
Amanda – I’m no Mandarin expert. I just speak it with Ma and Ba. When Matt asked me yesterday about ping-pong, I immediately did three things:
1. I unconsciously ignored that ping-pong is a game (with a real name in Chinese) and therefore did not translate “ping-pong” into its equivalent Chinese name “ping-pang qiu” before translating.
2. I said ping-pong aloud and thought to myself, “If I were a foreign devil trying to speak Chinese and came up with ‘ping-pong’, what might I actually be attempting to say?”
3. I came up with the most similar sounding Chinese words that I knew: flat 平 fat 胖.
The Chinese characters ping pang (乒乓) may have just been chosen for the way they sound. But since I don’t read Chinese, I don’t know if the characters 乒乓 have any clever meaning the way that 可口可樂 (kuh-ko-kuh-luh, Coca Cola in Chinese) means “thirsty mouth, happy mouth” or that 宜家 (yi-jia, Ikea in Chinese) means “easy home”.
Thanks Mike!
Now we need someone to tell us what a literal translation of 乒乓 would be.
After researching zhongwen.com:
乒 and 乓 are onomatopoeias suggesting the sound of weapons clashing. Both characters are slight variations (as can be seen) of the character 兵 bing, meaning weapon. This character actually depicts two hands holding an axe (can’t you tell?).
No wonder the Chinese take ping-pong so seriously.
乒乓 are onomatopoeia (words imitating sound) like oink, meow etc.
The words are derived from the character for soldier (same as 乒 or 乓 but with two “legs” at the bottom – sorry I don’t have a computer that can “write” Chinese) – 乒乓 therefore is suggestive of the sound of weapons clashing.
AWESOME!! I am so glad Mike and Ken took my ponderings seriously and actually came up with an answer!
Chinese is so fun!!
Let’s not forget the most intriguing part of this dialog – what caused Matt to pose his original question?
Something about the word ping-pong caused Matt to ask if it had any meaning in Mandarin. He would never have asked if “fried chicken” had any meaning in Chinese, right?
These are my conclusions:
1. Ping-pong does not have an obvious English meaning the way that fried chicken does.
2. The Chinese are well known for their prowess in table tennis, so ping-pong could well have been transplanted from Mandarin to English.
3. Since all Mandarin words end in a vowel, -n or -ng, ping-pong sounds just like other Chinese words.
This fearsome trio must have teamed up to do Matt in.
Aye, that be the fearsome trio that done me in. Thanks for your input concerning this most intriguing matter. I’ll admit, the ping pong question furrowed my brow many a time.
All I know is I’m gonna wield my paddle with the intensity of a Chinesean (or Mandarinian) from now on!!
Welcome aboard, Mate…I mean, Matt.