It appears that the Chinese government has declared war on puns. Since I am extremely fond of this form of humor, I guess this rules out that nation as a possible future home for me.
It just got a little less fun to be a headline writer in China.
China’s media regulators have put out a new edict to copywriters, directing them to keep their groaners to themselves.
It’s no laughing matter – the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued an order restricting puns and irregular wordplay on television and in advertising.
The order, listed on the media regulator’s website late last week, says that puns could mislead young readers and make it more difficult to promote traditional Chinese culture.
Puns are ubiquitous in Chinese, which has countless homophones. Substituting one character for another can easily change the meaning of a phrase while barely altering the sound.
A quick sweep of articles covering this news revealed that writers had taken this opportunity to unleash as many puns as they could think of and The Daily Show could not resist either.
(This clip aired on December 2, 2014. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report outside the US, please see this earlier post. If the videos autoplay, please see here for a diagnosis and possible solutions.)
I was going to write that I wouldn’t give up puns for all the tea in China, then I realized, there is no ‘t’ in ‘China’.
I had not heard that one before. Good one!
I heard the law goes into effect at the end of February, which means it’s going to be a Long March.
Chinese citizens need to watch what they say, watch what they do, according to Ari Fleischer.
If puns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have puns.
I’m actually on board with this edict, so long as it only applies to the news, although not because they may lead to misunderstandings or whatever. Has anyone else noticed that news anchors and newspaper editors and the like are always, 100%, no exceptions ever, awful at puns? A soft-news spot involving ducks as an example, will invariably involve some sort of awfulness along the lines of ‘quack’, e.g.: “…scientists say that the river is not all it is quacked up to be!” or, a piece involving say, wool exports will have “…proving once and for all that there is no such thing as ba-a-a-ad press!”
They always leave me feeling annoyed at my TV for relaying such crap to my ears, so for my part, well done China!
Chinese culture just isn’t very punny.
So you don’t support strict pun-control, Mobius?
@sigurd jorsalfar
They can take my puns when they pry them from my cold dead lips.
The National Pun Association will never give in to pun control of any sort.
I see you’re all incorrigible punsters.
I will not incorrige you.
… the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued an order restricting puns and irregular wordplay on television and in advertising.
But did they define the punishment?