CCTV is usually excellent. They have really good English language programming too. Occasionally I will run across programs or segments that make me want to cringe, like someone had just scratched his nails on a black board. In this segment, they are reporting 45% of software installed in all computers in China are pirated, and the trend over the last few years have been improving. From 2003 to 2009, this rate had fallen by 13% due to government crack down, cheaper versions available from domestic companies, and other factors. First, have a look at the video, and I will rant about it afterwards.
Was it the British accent? Nothing against the Brits, but combining with the Chinese accent, it just doesn’t sound right. Or was it their spoken English simply lousy? Perhaps CCTV should have these two guys live in the U.K. or America for 10 years before they are allowed in front of the video. CCTV has a lot of cash – this lousy English deal must end!
And what happened to the usual CCTV standard? Tells us refinements to China’s intellectual property laws, the crackdowns, and specific efforts from domestic software companies coming out to fight piracy in China.
Too much time on that reporter. His hands are waving too much. Maybe the control room is watching the guy talking and not paying attention? They need to swap in the video feed (of pirate software CD demolition, for example) while the reporter yaps away in his lousy English.
The anchor asked the reported a question, but I don’t think the answer matched the question very well – as if the reporter didn’t even understand it.
I just hope someone from CCTV is reading this and pass the word along.
xian says
Hmm.. I’m not sure if CCTV is excellent, I think a lot of people on the forums would disagree, lol. Accent or not I think their English is pretty good though, except maybe the “two stones… one bird” part, haha.
HermitCrab says
Honestly I am not bothered by the English accent + minor “chinglish”. What is so horrid? I tend to like English accents over American Southern accents or ‘Black Vernacular’/ghetto-talk.
And I have to agree above… I would not use “excellent” to describe CCTV as a news provider either; though to be fair there are some improvements. But perhaps you were referring to their English skills as compared to other Chinese outlets.
Anyway, I rarely find any primary/’mainstream’ news outlet as “excellent” these days.
Allen says
I am actually fundamentally against the use of the term piracy for goods that are fundamentally non-rivalrous goods. IP is a policy tool for development, not a fundamental right for companies to monopolize per se.
I am at the WIPO conference at Stanford and we just had a section on the recent ACTA (anti-counterfeiting trade agreement) negotiated (in secrecy) among 38 developed nations. In my eyes, this smacks of imperialism (by developed nations and multi nationals) to create a choke hold on world development – but that’s just my take.
Anyways – will write more on this blog in the future to flush out more my angst against wholesale prescription of IP norms…
Wukailong says
I think CCTV is pretty awful when it comes to English programming, so I haven’t watched that for years. Some of the Chinese programs are great though, especially the regular news at CCTV 4, as well as the music channel.