It is still too early to remove the quotation marks of "Su Chao"

□ Chen Dezhi (Hunan University of Technology)
Recently, some media published a quotation mark entitled "Su Chao". Can we not add it? The article, once published, quickly triggered a heated discussion. According to the article, "Su Chao" has become a household name. Its influence is so great and its popularity is so high that even after removing the quotation marks, everyone knows what it means.
However, can the quotation mark of "Su Chao" be saved? " The controversy is mainly divided into two factions: one faction believes that it cannot be saved. Because "Su Chao" is not the abbreviation of "Jiangsu City Football League", but a nickname or a joke given by netizens. As a "nickname" and a proper noun, it is still necessary to add "quotation marks" and not remove them, otherwise it will cause confusion.
The other school thinks that it can be saved. Language is created by the masses, develops and changes, and is often established. The birth of a new word often has three stages: defamiliarization, cognition and solidification. When the word "Su Chao" first appeared, it should be put in quotation marks, because it is a proper noun and a temporary combination. Adding quotation marks has the functions of highlighting and attracting attention. However, when the word is known by the people of the whole country, it has become a conventional word, and the quotation marks can naturally be removed. Because after the quotation marks are removed, the expression of meaning will not be affected, and there will be no misunderstanding and confusion.
In fact, language, like everything in the world, is always in dynamic change. Some proper nouns or innovative words need quotation marks when they are used at first, but when they are used more often, the quotation marks can be removed by convention. This transition from "emphasizing logo" to "normal use" can be clearly followed in the evolution of new words such as "blind box" and "out of the circle".
However, whether the quotation marks of "Su Chao" can be removed may actually involve a problem similar to the "preemption principle" in trademark law. That is the Su Chao recognized by the current world football, which actually refers to the Scottish Football Super League. Founded in 1888, as a second-rate league in Europe, its competitive strength should not be underestimated. There are 12 participating teams in the league, among which Celtic and Glasgow Rangers have won European champions, and the champions of each season even have the opportunity to play in the Champions League next season. Therefore, the Scottish Football Super League has a deeper accumulation than Jiangsu City Football League in terms of its founding history, competitive level, popularity and influence, and can afford the name "Su Chao". In a word, if "Su Chao" is confined to domestic communication, it is ok to remove the quotation marks, but from the perspective of international communication, it is necessary to add such a quotation mark.
Looking at it from another angle, the dispute over the quotation marks of "Su Chao" actually reflects the demand for branding and standardization of sports events. Instead of obsessing about punctuation, it is better to focus on the improvement of the event itself. Although "Su Chao" is well received at present, a few months later, many problems have been exposed. For example, there are still shortcomings in team management, event organization and industrial value transformation. The success of "Su Chao" is a great practice of the concept of "a sports power" in the new era. Perhaps we should calm down, sum up and reflect well, and avoid being led by the nose by public opinion.
There is no need to entangle the names of mass sports events. Only by making the events better and making the people truly satisfied is the "king". Just as the "village supermarket" which is popular all over the country, it is not eager to pursue the "rectification" of the name form, but to win the reputation of the masses with solid event content, which is the core essence of the development of sports events.
This article is an original article on red pepper criticism, which is only the author’s personal opinion and does not represent the position of Red Net. Please attach the original source link and this statement to reprint.
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