Zhonglish
(n) The mangled, garbled, butchered, malapropriated or trashed Chinese spoken by native speakers of English.
Pronunciation notes: Similar to Joan-glish. The ZH is NOT pronounced like the S in "fusion" but like the DGE in fudge.
Origin: "zhong" is taken directly from the first syllable of the Mandarin word for Chinese; "lish" is from English, of course.
Usage: Zhonglish is the mirror image of Chinglish but is less likely to be hurled as an insult. It is amusing, not abusing, and is usually applied to learners of Mandarin, although it could conceivably be applied to Wu, Cantonese, or others.
History: "Zhonglish" has been used by learners of Chinese at least since the early 1960s.
Pronunciation notes: Similar to Joan-glish. The ZH is NOT pronounced like the S in "fusion" but like the DGE in fudge.
Origin: "zhong" is taken directly from the first syllable of the Mandarin word for Chinese; "lish" is from English, of course.
Usage: Zhonglish is the mirror image of Chinglish but is less likely to be hurled as an insult. It is amusing, not abusing, and is usually applied to learners of Mandarin, although it could conceivably be applied to Wu, Cantonese, or others.
History: "Zhonglish" has been used by learners of Chinese at least since the early 1960s.
Bemused by Kevin's Zhonglish, the Beijinger said kindly, "You speak very well -- it sounds like you're singing a song."
Zhonglish by Beijing Sounds January 27, 2008
Get the Zhonglish mug.