Not So Fast

16 October 2006



Beijing Cracks Down on “Chinglish” Ahead of Olympics

“East is East and West is West” wrote Rudyard Kipling. Had he lived to see jet airplanes, he might have decided the twain might meet after all, with amusing results. “Chinglish” is the word created to describe poorly translated Chinese into English. Like most communists, those running the People’s Republic of China have no sense of humor and have launched yet another campaign to stamp out these poor translations so the nation isn’t embarrassed when the world turns up in 2008 for the Olympic games. What a pity.

In some places, Chinglish is also a spoken creole mix of English and the local Chinese dialect, a variety of pidgin. And in some circumstances, the term is used as an insult, as when an academic may refer to a college as having a “Chinglish Department” rather than a competent English department. The Red Chinese don’t seem to be worried about this; apparently, they are only concerned about written proof of any imperfections in their system.

Examples of this are either baffling or gut-bustingly funny. Idioms are great fun in any language because they aren’t rational. For example, the good folks at Wikipedia note that “Open the door see mountain,” is a literal translation of a term meaning “speak straightforwardly.” A sign at the University of Nottingham’ campus in Ningbo, China, reads, “Warm Suggestion: Keep your valuables properly.” One gets the idea, at least. Chairman Mao himself advised, “Good good study, day day up.” That makes no sense at all, but it is apparently a wise thing to do, “study hard, keep improving.”

Of course, this works both ways. Coca-Cola once had a slogan in English “Coke adds Life.” A bit of an exaggeration, but then all advertising is. In Chinese, the people at Coke promised, “Coke Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Dead,” which was probably not true, unless mixed with something stronger.

The intent of the Beijing government is noble, having the people of China use English better. And of course, the people coming to visit during the games owe their hosts the duty of trying to pick up a few words, both written and spoken. However, as anyone who has studied a foreign language knows, mistakes are part of the bargain. If they are made openly and obviously, they can be corrected. Denying that a mistake was ever made doesn’t “day day up” anybody.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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