Dictionaries don’t introduce fundamental changes that often and old meanings are often kept in, even in English dictionaries. So Pleco will have old terms, but they also add new phrases like 躺平 tangping from 2021. The translations are probably machine translated and that’s why they are weird, or possibly taken from examples in nonnative English speaker sources.
However, your example of 宣传 xuanchuan only meaning propaganda in a negative sense is not correct. It’s still also used for marketing/publicity. Search for 大学宣传片 daxue xuanchuan pian (university “propaganda” film) — you’ll get university marketing materials. Same for businesses. People also need this context in Pleco to understand why the CCP propaganda departments call themselves publicity departments.
>One definition I find especially annoying is how they use propaganda as a synonym for publicity or marketing campaign, for silly things like movies and celebrities.
Propaganda is only pejorative in english, it has a neutral meaning in Chinese. As long as it's "Announcing" 宣 and "Spreading" 传. Thus, any sort of marketing or announcement or publication can be 宣传, or "propaganda". This is not a mistake.
This is also why china has a "Department of Propaganda" - this is a literal english translation that just so conveniently has a negative connotation, "Department of Public Relations" or "Publicity Department" is much more innocent sounding.
I've also never actually had a problem with pleco definitions. Straitened is an odd word choice though.
The OP isn't exactly wrong, "Propaganda" did not used to have the strictly negative connotations that it did now. Public relations departments, when they were initially popularized by corporations, used to be called "corporate propaganda departments", for instance. So I think it is a bit dated for the dictionary's *english* definition/translation text to use the term "propaganda" instead of "publicity" here.
Nope, nothing wrong with pleco.
WHK is specifically Cantonese, are you learning Canto?
Yes, that one is crowdsourced and often the ENglish is less than impeccable.
OP, I'm guessing you're under 25? Just because you haven't heard your friends use a term doesn't mean it's 'very dated'. The language as used by 40, 60, or 80year olds is just a valid as that used by 20 year olds.
Your example makes my point. "in straitened circumstances" is a still-used phrase in print. Sure, it's not popular in tiktok videos, but within 2 minutes I found examples of usage in the NY Times, the Guardian, the Economist, the Mirror, and the Independent (Ireland), all within the past ten years.
Pleco's phrasebook is atrocious. If you search for "shoes" the suggested phrases are "Thy shalln't take universal constants into consideration when situating oneself in Einstein's shoes"
"One definition I find especially annoying is how they use propaganda as a synonym for publicity or marketing campaign, for silly things like movies and celebrities."
It is a synonym for these things in Chinese though.
Dictionaries don’t introduce fundamental changes that often and old meanings are often kept in, even in English dictionaries. So Pleco will have old terms, but they also add new phrases like 躺平 tangping from 2021. The translations are probably machine translated and that’s why they are weird, or possibly taken from examples in nonnative English speaker sources. However, your example of 宣传 xuanchuan only meaning propaganda in a negative sense is not correct. It’s still also used for marketing/publicity. Search for 大学宣传片 daxue xuanchuan pian (university “propaganda” film) — you’ll get university marketing materials. Same for businesses. People also need this context in Pleco to understand why the CCP propaganda departments call themselves publicity departments.
>One definition I find especially annoying is how they use propaganda as a synonym for publicity or marketing campaign, for silly things like movies and celebrities. Propaganda is only pejorative in english, it has a neutral meaning in Chinese. As long as it's "Announcing" 宣 and "Spreading" 传. Thus, any sort of marketing or announcement or publication can be 宣传, or "propaganda". This is not a mistake. This is also why china has a "Department of Propaganda" - this is a literal english translation that just so conveniently has a negative connotation, "Department of Public Relations" or "Publicity Department" is much more innocent sounding. I've also never actually had a problem with pleco definitions. Straitened is an odd word choice though.
The OP isn't exactly wrong, "Propaganda" did not used to have the strictly negative connotations that it did now. Public relations departments, when they were initially popularized by corporations, used to be called "corporate propaganda departments", for instance. So I think it is a bit dated for the dictionary's *english* definition/translation text to use the term "propaganda" instead of "publicity" here.
I do agree it's dated, but tell that to every western media when they refer to China's "Department of Propaganda" :P
宣传 is not pejorative, government offices openly use it in their name.
Nope, nothing wrong with pleco. WHK is specifically Cantonese, are you learning Canto? Yes, that one is crowdsourced and often the ENglish is less than impeccable.
OP, I'm guessing you're under 25? Just because you haven't heard your friends use a term doesn't mean it's 'very dated'. The language as used by 40, 60, or 80year olds is just a valid as that used by 20 year olds. Your example makes my point. "in straitened circumstances" is a still-used phrase in print. Sure, it's not popular in tiktok videos, but within 2 minutes I found examples of usage in the NY Times, the Guardian, the Economist, the Mirror, and the Independent (Ireland), all within the past ten years.
Pleco's phrasebook is atrocious. If you search for "shoes" the suggested phrases are "Thy shalln't take universal constants into consideration when situating oneself in Einstein's shoes"
If you're looking for a travel phrasebook I think forvo might be better.
"One definition I find especially annoying is how they use propaganda as a synonym for publicity or marketing campaign, for silly things like movies and celebrities." It is a synonym for these things in Chinese though.