Talk:玻璃

"bōlí,2tl=y" specifically based on "bō·lí" as seen in Xiandai Hanyu Cidian Ed 5 pg 102 (2005)
From my perspective, "bōlí" is not the dated variant in the Mainland- the dated variant in the Mainland is "bō·lí", which means that the historical standard pronunciation was both 'bōlí' and 'bōli'- either pronunciation could be used at will while being standard, and there was no change in meaning. I admit that my edit from May 5th was not perfect, but I haven't been able to imagine a better way to describe a formerly official toneless final syllable variant. (Beyond 现代汉语词典5, 现代汉语词典试用本from 1977 also has "bō·lí". In 现代汉语词典6 & 7, the bōlí pronunciation is done away with and bōli is the standard. ) I think the way Dokurrat has edited the page is okay, but I wish I could tell readers that 玻璃 was formerly an officially sanctioned toneless final syllable variant word. Don't really know how to do it in an elegant way. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 14:08, 23 June 2018 (UTC) The reason the issue is important to me is that some people who are just starting to study Chinese think that the tones aren't really that important, and I think it's because most Chinese users and Chinese teachers reflexively use officially sanctioned toneless final syllable variants at will without realizing it and without telling the students that this type of word can be read with two different pronunciations. The toneless final syllable variants cause chaos in the textbooks, but the fact of the matter is that they are out there: one word with one meaning with two pronunciations. 合同 母亲 etc. I've heard them, and I've seen people go back and forth between using the toneless form and the original tone form in conversation. That's just my experience. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 14:15, 23 June 2018 (UTC)


 * What's your idea about this issue? Dokurrat (talk) 15:33, 23 June 2018 (UTC)
 * First off, I don’t think bōlí is a dated variant, but rather a former standard pronunciation. I imagine it’s still used in some parts of Mainland China, especially the south. Second, I really don’t think it’s our job to report how all editions of all dictionaries treat these pronunciations, but which particular pronunciations are considered standard/nonstandard. In this case, only bōlí is no longer considered standard, so that’s all we need to say. — justin(r)leung { (t...) 19:29, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

BL not the origin of the slang term
The term has been in use in Taiwan since 1970s, probably originating as a cant for butt and anal sex (according to zh:玻璃圈). The Japanese term BL originated in the 1990s (according to ja:ボーイズラブ). C9mVio9JRy (talk) 17:24, 7 April 2024 (UTC)