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Forum locked This topic is locked, you cannot edit posts or make further replies.  [ 5 posts ] 
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 Post subject: Versus vs. And
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 1:12 am 
In certain parts of Asia, where newspapers are printed in either Japanese or Chinese, the English term "versus" (printed in roman letters and often initialized to just "vs.") is frequently used in headlines in Mandarin or Nihongo to mean "competing against" or "as opposed to." Which is correct.

But sometimes the term "vs." is used in Chinese character headlines to mean "and", which cannot be correct. Or can it ever be used that way?

Recently, I saw a story that was headlined "India vs. Taiwan film festival gets underway" and this was a story that was meant to decribe a film festival that included screenings of films from both India and Taiwan. How did "vs" ever get in there?

This happens quite often, confusing "vs." with "and". I once saw a pub with a sign that read "Music Vs. Jazz" as its name, and when I asked the owner why he called it that, he said that his pub offered ''music and jazz'' to patrons. SInce English was not his first language, he had come to believe that "vs" could be used in signage to mean "and".

How did this turn of events ever come to be?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 4:26 am 
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Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:03 am
Posts: 1224
Location: Japan
Maybe originally as a choice between options?

(This thread probably belongs under Australasia.)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:58 pm 
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Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:51 pm
Posts: 61
Location: Washington, D.C.
Um... "versus" is hardly the only problem with the phrase "music vs. jazz."


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:05 pm 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 12:01 am
Posts: 3137
Location: Homebush NSW Australia
Under English law, the v in citations is spoken as ''and''. Thus the important Donoghue v Stevenson would be referred to in court as Donoghue and Stevenson, then rendered as Donoghue v Stevenson in the Law Reports. This could explain the Japanese confusion. Mr Bloom would be better placed than I to comment on the respect or otherwise shown to the English language in Japan.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:55 am 
Paul,

That explains alot! Thanks. Maybe it came to Japan via English law documents, and then to Taiwan, and the newspapers picked up as a handy shorthand notation to use in Chinese-character newspaper headlines. Could be.

Thanks, Mr. Sleuth!


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