before they discover that "bob" has more than one meaning: http://www.chinatopix.com/arti...at-china-pun-ban.htm

On the same subject, a puntastic paragraph in the COME YE TO BETHLINKHEM article (about half-way down, starting with "China bans puns ...").

(H/T to Language Log.)

Thanks for linking to that site. I wasn't aware of it previously. In another of their stories they mention the International Early Psychosis Conference Are they the ones who started the saying, "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps?"

Violators of the imperial edict will be subjected to severe pun-ishment.

That is amazing. Where is Bob when we need him? I know he is posting on Facebook. Arnie's link had a discussion about it on Language Log. I'll see if I can awaken Bob.

This is really just politically motivated. They can bleat on all they like about preserving the purity of the language (and ain't it funny how communist rhetoric sounds so much like fascist rhetoric?) but it's really just politics.

China blocks and bans most types of criticism of the Government and scans the internet for things that contain words that might mention - for example - Tiananmen square. To get round this bloggers and protesters use words that sound similar to the search terms and form punning references in the hope of slipping them past the authorities. That's the intent behind this new rule. It won't stick. Because Chinese is so chock full of homophones it's a language that was virtually built for punning.

As for multiple meanings of bob.

As for arnie's link I read it all and who could resist clicking through to the link "Billionaire Dinosaur Forced Me Gay"? Sounds like one monster of a book to me.

Billionaire Dinosaur Forced Me Gay

Ah, the interspecies, same-sex romance genre isn't dead.

I remember those Bob limericks, Bob!

I hope those Chinese politicians aren't trolling around WC.