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500,000 Entries for Expanded Chinese Dictionary

China's "most inclusive" dictionary is set to expand by nearly a third to nearly half a million entries across 25 volumes, state media reported on Tuesday.

It will take seven years to fully revise the Hanyu Da Cidian, first published in 1986, for its second edition, the state news agency Xinhua said, with the first volume due to be released in 2015.

China's most authoritative dictionary, the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, included a relatively sparse 69,000 entries by comparison in its sixth edition, published earlier this year.

It had 3,000 new phrases but sparked controversy with its inclusion of 239 English words and acronyms such as "NBA" and "GDP".

More than 100 Chinese scholars, mostly linguists, sent a petition in protest to the General Administration of Press and Publication, China's publishing watchdog.

English abbreviations for international bodies such as the WTO are widely used in China, while PM2.5, a measure of air pollution, has become a familiar term among urban residents, who are increasingly concerned about air quality.

Source: Agence France Presse


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