Pitfalls: MV, PV, CM
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 @ 3:25 pm | pitfalls
The terms “MV,” “PV,” and “CM” are popular in Asian countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea. However, most people in North America and other English-speaking countries don’t know what MV, PV, and CM mean. You need to be careful with letter-based words (usually called “acronyms”). Even though they’re based on real English words, native English speakers may not use the same acronyms.
- Pitfall: MV, PV
American English: Music video. We don’t generally use this abbreviation (short form). We just say “video” or “music video.”
Example 1: My band made our first music video this weekend! Example 2: Did you see Gnarls Barkley’s new music video? I really liked it!
Here’s a music video by Calexico, a band I like. It might be hard to hear the words, so you can read the lyrics here. Their lyrics are very poetic, so it’s probably still hard to understand! - Pitfall: CM
American English: Ad (casual), advertisement, commercial. (Note: “advertisement” is pronounced differently in British and American English.) Usually, to refer to both radio and TV advertisements, we just say “ad.”
Example 1: I really hate that new diamond ring ad–it’s sexist and insulting to women. Example 2: I love watching TV shows on DVD because I don’t have to see any commercials!
This ad from the pay-TV network Discovery Channel was really popular last year. A lot of people made their own versions, and the geeky webcomic xkcd even did a parody.
Do you know some other acronyms that you’re not sure about? You can leave a comment and ask, and I’ll try to to answer you or write about it in a future Pitfalls post.
(Read other “Pitfalls” posts about words and phrases that can be a little dangerous.)
February 18th, 2010 at 3:44 am
Haha. I’d never heard of any of those. Reminds of the first few weeks after I arrived in Korea. I was always hearing about OSTs (Original Sound Tracks) and CFs (Commercial Faces).
February 19th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Ah, OST was on the list of “Japanese English you can’t use in the US” that I gave to a student here, although–to be fair–you CAN use it with anime fans here, who know it very well (along with “BGM”–background music). I’m going to guess that OST originated in Japan, but I don’t know for sure. CF is totally new to me, though! I get a bunch of hits for it as “commercial film.” Does it mean the same thing as CM (tv ad)?
February 20th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Yeah, I’ve had Korean students tell me both meanings for CF, but yours makes more sense. I think Korean advertising is pretty heavily influenced by trends in Japan.