The Chinglish Files by olr

Chinglish piece on "Marketplace"

In China, signs translated into English baffle
By Rob Schmitz
Marketplace, Thursday, August 11, 2011

Many thanks, Rob.

Chinglish and ... Google Earth

As part of my ongoing PhD project I am currently working with GeoTwain, a small web application developed at Heidelberg University to create so-called kml files (which you open with Google Earth) from semicolon delimited tables. It supports geo-encoding, i.e. finding coordinates of place names, by searching different databases and applies time and other information to the placemarks.

I am currently testing the software for my needs and came up with a first kmz file (kml plus graphics) with Chinglish signs taken in China. The data source is my second volume of bilingual pictures: "More Chinglish - Speaking in Tongues", published in 2009 by Gibbs Smith.

I am a kml newbie, so I was particularly delighted to learn that you are able to upload your own visualization of a Chinglish spot. Here is the first trial:

In total there are 100 pictures at 42 locations with - no surprise - Beijing and Shanghai as the main spots. The graphic differs in size according to the number of spotted signs. Notice how the density of signs decreases once you start moving away from the coastal areas. Whether or not this is coincidental needs further research, but it fuels the hypothesis that Chinglish is existent where sign makers have an international non-Chinese speaking audience in mind, i.e. metropolitan areas and touristic sights.

Have a look yourself: "More Chinglish: Speaking in Tongues" in Google Earth (needs Google Earth installed)

Comments are very much appreciated.

Chinglish on China Radio International Beyond Beijing

On Friday morning 4 am I had the privilege to join two gentlemen live in Beijing, discussing my favorite topic:
David Moser, Academic Director, CET Beijing Chinese Studies, Teng Jimeng, Associate Professor for American Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University and I had a fun panel in the wee hours of the day.

Listen to the show here.

How to take a good Chinglish picture

I receive quite a few contributions here at Chinglish.de that would make for some marvellous contributions if only their quality would be a tad better. That’s quite a pity, because I very much want to showcase your treasures, but do not want to copy down the content, simply because it’s too dark or too fuzzy.

The following list is an attempt at making you, the Chinglish photographer, contemplate a few things before taking a picture. Keep in mind: this is written for 傻瓜照相机 a “fool’s camera”, or in plain English: your everyday modern digital pocket camera.

First of all: Take your time.
Good pictures rarely get done in a rush. I know what it feels like to come across good Chinglish. You laugh, you are excited and you want to catch the sign as quickly as possible. So you hurry. I say: please put down your camera bag first or any other stuff you are holding in your hand at that moment. Believe me, with free hands and regular breath your picture will turn out so much better.

Take two.
If you are not sure that your auto focus worked correctly, give the sign another shot.

Check the lighting.
Do not photograph against the sunlight. Do not use a flash when the sign has a polished surface since it will reflect the flash and ruin your picture. If you can move the light source try to play with it. If you cannot, move yourself.

Get close.
If your camera has a macro function (as most modern cameras do), use it.

Change perspective.
Try to get as close to the sign as possible and change perspective. Try and take a picture from the lower left or the upper right.

Add background.
Adding context makes sense with a lot of signs. For example: add a bit of lawn if you are taking pictures of a public park sign asking to watch your steps.

Use a tripod.
Although it may feel quite bright outside, shooting in the early evening without using a flash is almost always a mission impossible. Using a small tripod helps. It does not need to be a tripod with telescope legs, a small 5$ mini tripod propped on a bike saddle helps stabilizing quite substantially already. Use the self-timer.

Very important: Do not forget the original.
In order to compare the Chinese text with its English counterpart, do not forget to include the original characters in your picture. If that cannot be done, please shoot an extra one for reference purposes.

I hope this proves helpful to you. I am looking forward to your contributions!

Follow-up from Canada.

CBC, which is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and their radio program "As it happens" contacted me before dinner yesterday. I had a little chat with host Carol Off on Shanghai's correction efforts. You may find the program here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radioshows/AS_IT_HAPPENS/20100504.shtml

Here is the actual interview (wma file):
Listen to Part 2 of As It Happens

News from Big Apple again.

"Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/world/asia/03chinglish.html

Thanks, Andrew!

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Message from Big Apple

Reader Diane Maas from New York City reconfirms part of my theory on the underlying motivation of the ongoing Chinglish production in connection with the Chinese tourism industry. Please find her guest comment below:

My husband, daughter and I were recently (April 2010) on vacation in Yunnan, where I'd like to report that Chinglish is alive, well,and thriving. From the top of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to the depths of the Jiuxiang Grottos we saw some wonderful examples (see pics below). As Yunnan is now opening up to tourism (though we saw mostly Asian tourists--no Westerners), signage is mostly bilingual Chinese-English, or in most cases, Chinese-Chinglish. Many places in northern Yunnan such as Zhongdian (now renamed by the Chinese government as 'Shangri-la' purely for tourism purposes) once sleepy little cities are getting on the tourist industry bandwagon reinventing themselves as necessary "destinations.' Therefore, most of the signs are relatively new (created in the past two years, when the Yunnan tourist industry has been in high gear) - so that made the Chinglish charm all the more poignant.

Here are two of her treasures:

Many thanks, Diane!

Shanghai EXPO English

哇！What an interesting way to start the new year. This sign with its full name of 《卢湾区窗口服务与商业发展指挥部世博双语指南》(approximately: World Expo Bilingual Compass (issued by) Luwan District Commercial Development Headquarters) is a great window into the Chinese mind (at least into the one that deemed this sign necessary).

Clearly nothing (substantially) wrong with the English here. But using Chinese characters as a phonetic crutch to teach English pronounciation is a fascinating phenomenon. I thought this particular concept to be dead and buried, though. Clearly, I was wrong.

Here's a Pinyin transcription:

Welcome to our store! - weierkangmu tu aowo sidao!

Good morning - gude maoning
Good afternoon - gude afutenu
Good evening - gude yifuning

Can I help you? - kan ai hai'erpu you?

I'm sorry, I can only speak a little English. - anme saorui, ai kan wenglei sibike e leitou yinggelishi.

Just moment, please. - jiesite moumente pulisi

I'll find our colleague for help. - ai wei'o fande awo kaolige fou hai'erpu

Bye Bye! - bai bai

It's interesting to see that the Chinese phonetic transcription itself isn't consistent: in the first sentence the sign makers are using "澳窝 aowo" for "our" (welcome to our store) while in the last line they were voting for "阿窝 awo" (I'll find our colleague for help). It's a long sign, apparently.

Dear readers and Chinglish fans:
Please send me an original picture of this sign including its surroundings! Mail address is on the right.

Jackpot question:
who is the target audience?

Many sankesi!

Variations on a theme.

"小心碰头" xiao3xin1 peng4tou2 - "mind your head" is a sign that you can't miss whereever you go in China. That is, if the translation comes out right, which is not really happening in many instances. Please find a selection below. I am really puzzled when it comes to the last one!