Broken English produced by
people whose mother tongue is Chinese, that results from one or more of the following:
- translating Chinese sentences on a word-by-word basis, instead of conveying the intended meaning (e.g. translating "wǒ hěn xǐhuan" as "I very like" instead of "I like it a
lot")
- using faulty translation software and not bothering to check whether the translation is correct (e.g. translating "sàn gānguǒ" as "Spread to fuck the fruit" instead of "
loose dried fruits"
- using obscure or slang
words instead of the more common synonym (e.g. translating "Guānmén" as "steek" instead of "close", or translating "Shǒuzhǐ" as "bumf" instead of "toilet paper")
- falling victim of absurd translations provided as jokes (e.g. translating "tāotiè" as "exterminate
capitalism" instead of "tantalizing")
Get rid of those signs! You can't expect
people to read "To take notice of
safe: The slippery are very crafty" and not to laugh at us!
(that was probably what Chen
Lin said, when he decided that Chinglish signs in Beijing needed to be replaced)
