Different cultures tend to have different motivations behind their choice of slang, on top of the difference in language used. For example, in China, because of the tough Internet regulations imposed, users tend to use certain slang to talk about issues deemed as sensitive to the government. These include using symbols to separate the characters of a word to avoid detection from manual or automated text pattern scanning and consequential censorship.Zhou Shuguang (2008). "Notes On The Net." Index on Censorship Vol 37:2 An outstanding example is the use of the term river crab to denote censorship. River crab (hexie) is pronounced the same as "harmony"—the official term used to justify political discipline and censorship. As such Chinese netizens reappropriate the official terms in a sarcastic way.Nordin, Astrid and Richaud, Lisa (2014), "Subverting official language and discourse in China? Type river rrab for harmony," China Information 28, 1 (March): 47–67.
Different cultures tend to have different motivations behind their choice of slang, on top of the difference in language used. For example, in China, because of the tough Internet regulations imposed, users tend to use certain slang to talk about issues deemed as sensitive to the government. T?hese include using symbols to separate the characters of a word to avoid detection from manual or automated text pattern scanning and consequential censorship.Zhou Shuguang (2008). "Notes On The Net." Index on Censorship Vol 37:2 An outstanding example is the use of the term river crab to denote censorship. River crab (hexie) is pronounced the same as "harmony"—the official term used to justify political discipline and censorship. As such Chinese netizens reappropriate the official terms in a sarcastic way.Nordin, Astrid and Richaud, Lisa (2014), "Subverting official language and discourse in China? Type river rrab for harmony," China Informa?tion 28, 1 (March): 47–67.