The English Challenge in China

Telegraph:

For years, badly translated signs have had the Englishman abroad in stitches. But for tourism officials in Beijing, a city preparing for the arrival of millions of visitors for the Olympic Games in August, the problem is far from funny.

The Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau has hired English linguists to eradicate "Chinglish" from signs and shop fronts.

It has also instructed the city's 4,000 unrated hotels to translate their names, service hours, room rates, menus and notices into accurate English.

Restaurateurs have been given a list of the proper English names for the most commonly mistranslated items, including "virgin chicken" for a young chicken dish, "steamed crap" instead of crab, and "burnt lion's head" describing Chinese pork meatballs.

"These translations either scare or embarrass foreign customers and may cause misunderstanding on China's diet habits," the state news agency said.

Some of the signs have been celebrated on websites and books, including one sign that greets Western visitors to a café with the words: "Welcome big nose friends" and another for the Tibetan "Reception Centre for the Unorganised Tourists".

English speakers in Beijing have been invited to visit "Racist Park" - more accurately translated as the Park of Ethnic Minorities - and warned to take care on wet roads as "the slippery are very crafty".

...


That last one reminds me of one of my favorite slogans. "It is impossible to make things foolproof because fools are so ingenious." It served me well during my legal career. There are some photos of the signs including this "Slip Carefully" sign.

Comments

  1. Karl1:03 AM

    It's the same problem all over the world.

    John Seward, in his book, Japanese in Action documented a number of mangled attempts at English by Japanese writers. These included signs like "Have many accidents here", or on a medicine bottle, "Take three times daily until passing away". The grand prize, dating from a time when it was thought General McArthur might run for President, was a banner that read, "We play for McArthur's erection."

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