The Old, Weak, Ill, Disability, and Pregnant Lounge
Where: China
Talk about a lost cause. English is being corrupted the world over--did you know that millions of Germans think that a "handy" is the equivalent of a cell-phone, and that we use the phrase "you can reach me on my handy"?--and now the Chinese government has finally decided to fix up their English before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Chinglish, their often comical mix of English and high imagination, has to go, they say.
Do we want this? Maybe it's OK to read an emergency exit sign (at Beijing Airport, no less) saying "No entry on peacetime". Or a warning for a slippery sidewalk that reads "To Take Notice of Safe; The Slippery are Very Crafty". Isn't this part of the fun of traveling in China? We say, long live the Chinglish, and we just need a friendly publisher to issue the Chinglish/English dictionary and we can travel both safely and with entertainment.
[Photo: RuSt]
Related stories:
· Beijing Bids to Stamp Out Chinglish [Independent Online]
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