[Vocabulary] 4712

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thedaffodils

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Hi!

The following words is transcribed from an ecard for Chinese New Year of Horse.


THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE HAS SAID GOODBYE...
IT'S TIME TO WELCOME 4712!
A MAGICAL YEAR OF THE HORSE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS & GOOD CHEERS!


--Could you please tell me what 4712 means if it is English slang? I searched it via Chinese search enigine, but it comes out nothing. Though I am Chinese, I couldn't figure it out if it is slang.

-- I learned it is rude to capitalized all words. I wonder it is okay to capitised all words in ecard as it is done in this ecard by the ecard designer.

Many thanks!
 

MikeNewYork

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Hi!

The following words is transcribed from an ecard for Chinese New Year of Horse.


THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE HAS SAID GOODBYE...
IT'S TIME TO WELCOME 4712!
A MAGICAL YEAR OF THE HORSE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS & GOOD CHEERS!


--Could you please tell me what 4712 means if it is English slang? I searched it via Chinese search enigine, but it comes out nothing. Though I am Chinese, I couldn't figure it out if it is slang.

-- I learned it is rude to capitalized all words. I wonder it is okay to capitised all words in ecard as it is done in this ecard by the ecard designer.

Many thanks!

Are sure you are Chinese? The year that is soon to end is the Chinese year 4711. The year that is about to begin is the Chinese year 4712.
 

thedaffodils

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Thank you very much for your help. It is interesting. I got it.


I am native Chinese, living in China all the time, but it was first ever for me to hear about it. I am sure most Chinese never hear about it either. Almost nobody would use it nowsaday, even in accient China, when Chinese would use the emperor's name when he ascended the throng, Qi Dynasty Xianfeng 12 .

Could you please answer me the second question?

-- I learned it is rude to capitalized all words. I wonder it is okay to capitised all words in ecard as it is done in this ecard by the ecard designer.
 

MikeNewYork

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Thank you very much for your help. It is interesting. I got it.


I am native Chinese, living in China all the time, but it was first ever for me to hear about it. I am sure most Chinese never hear about it either. Almost nobody would use it nowsaday, even in accient China, when Chinese would use the emperor's name when he ascended the throng, Qi Dynasty Xianfeng 12 .

Could you please answer me the second question?

-- I learned it is rude to capitalized all words. I wonder it is okay to capitised all words in ecard as it is done in this ecard by the ecard designer.

It seems odd to me that I know about the Chinese calendar and you don't.

Yes, it is normally considered rude to use only capital letters. And it is more difficult to read.
 

Rover_KE

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Writing with Caps Lock on is considered to be shouting in communications such as this or in texts and emails.

An ecard designer is free to use all capitals in the message if he thinks it looks good written that way — that's a matter of style. You are free not to use that ecard if you don't like it.

Another reason some people write in all-caps is that they don't know which words syntactically need capitalising, so Caps Lock on is a cop-out.

The writer of the quoted message above probably falls into this category; it should end 'HAPPINESS AND GOOD CHEER!'
 
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