The Dictionary of the Asian Language [Paperback]

Plenty of vogue words from the booming nations of Asia are entering the English language. The Chinese have a name  shengnu, literally leftover  for the new phenomenon of unmarried women over thirty. Can you tell your jeepney from your jilbab, guanxi from godown, or yakuza from the yellowshirts? These are just some of the hundreds of words that illuminate little corners of life and culture in a pan-Asian selection of keywords from the zeitgeist.There is no single Asian language. But plenty of vogue words from this booming continent are entering English. Did you know there is a flower named after former dictator Kim Jong-il? The Chinese have a word  shengnu, literally leftover  for the new phenomenon of unmarried women over thirty. Can you tell your jeepney from your jilbab, or yakuza from the yellowshirts? These are just some of the hundreds of words that illuminate little corners of life and culture in a pan-Asian selection of keywords from the zeitgeist.Todd Crowell is an American journalist. He lives in Tokyo, Japan.