Saturday, May 12, 2007

Manglish

The following images are courtesy of one of my periodic stops on the Web -- Rahoi.com . He lovingly documents the uncomfortable English translations that populate both modern-day China, as well as Chinatown. Enjoy these for what they are -- a temporary blip in the transition to a truly globalized economy.











(Hint: If you are an English-speaker and need work, head east, young (wo)man.) In the meantime, please give Rahoi.com a visit...

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1 comment:

Mesmacat said...

These raised a smile and a chuckle, and brought to mind a shop sign I saw in Larnica, Cyprus some time back for "Excited Sandwiches".

Have you ever looked at the English translation of Pravda? There are some real charming howlers there, and in fact turns of phrase more expressive and engaging than that one might expect from a native English writer.

I spent some time working with a very nice young Polish woman when I was at Goldman Sachs. She was a fast learner, but quite new to the English Language.

When she could not remember he English word for 'Easter' she asked me "what is name of holiday with rabbit?".

Later a fire alarm announcement test suddenly sounded over the bank's public address system. It was very loud and very unexpected. She suddenly exclaimed: "I had not expected voice from nowhere!"

The funny thing is these expressions were so fresh and charming, that ever since, those two phrases pop into my head when I think of either 'Easter' or a 'public address system'. I like them better than the proper English names. And also they remind me of her and my enjoyment of our time together.

In writing, some talk about 'defamiliarisation' as being a way of making your description of a scene or an experience more vital and more engaging, and the way that foreign speakers of a language can bring an innocence and fresh perspective to tired old words through their attempts to define or remember them, seems more than a little instructive of how language can work against expression.

I don't want to get too academic here, but I do love the ideas of French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard in this regard. He talks about how words can replace the meaning that underlies them through repetition and over familiarity, and the necessity sometimes of recovering the essence of what those words mean by telling the stories they relate to in different ways.

4:33 AM

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