Okay, so I’ve got a bit of a bee in my bonnet (so unlike me, I know…) and I need your help. It’s about a Chinese-related issue. It’s the way Chinese people refer to Australia in Chinese. Nowadays, lots of people, rather than using the standard word for Australia – which is 澳大利亚 Àodàlìyà, use a more recently coined term “土澳” Tǔ’Ào. I have a sense that this word is at its roots, not entirely respectful, but is perhaps so widely used that Chinese people have lost a sense of this. Interestingly, this then sparked an argument with a good Chinese friend of mine and I’m eager to get an outsider’s take on the issue (particularly if you don’t speak Chinese).
中文秘诀 | The Secret of Chinese 