Chinglish Signs
Life August 2nd, 2007I love Chinglish Signs. For those who don’t know, Chinglish is English translated from Chinese badly.
I bought a bunk bed recently, and was amazed to see the safety label:
I’m not sure if you are meant to loosen the screwshave or tighten them?
Anyway, here are a couple great resources for Chinglishaholics:
March 24th, 2010 at 8:29 am
must all care for our self just slightly better, your posting just emphasises this.
February 1st, 2011 at 3:46 pm
“Screwshave”?
I suppose if I spoke Mandarin, I would know how that could have come about…
But that’s actually part of the reason why I’ll defend Chinglish, the fact that I don’t speak a word of Mandarin myself. What right have I got to moan about Chinglish? All it means is that someone is trying. And sometimes, Chinglish is head and shoulders above a traditional translation. Take this:
“Tender, fragrant grass. How hard-hearted to trample”.
I for one prefer that to “Keep off the grass”.
Of course, if a translation is of vital importance, that’s when you bring in a translation company to do the job. We deal with a lot of Chinese documentation at work and we always have it translated professionaly because we can’t afford any mistakes.
But wherever it’s harmless, Chinglish ought to be left in place.