Chinglish

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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

An example of written chinglish on a signpost. The Chinese characters roughly mean: "All cashiers in the marketplace offer price-checking services". The chinglish translation on the bottom of the sign deviates from the sign's intended meaning.

An example of written chinglish.

Chinglish is a portmanteau of the words Chinese and English and refers to spoken or written English which is influenced by Chinese^[1].

Chinglish has frequently been used as a pejorative term^[2], and the academic community uses the terms "Chinese English" and "China English" to refer to what is popularly called Chinglish^[3] .

Chinglish from this rigid machine translation renders this menu almost unusable.

[edit] History

Chinese Pidgin English was spoken in China beginning in the 17th century. "Yangjing Bang English" in Chinese (洋涇濱, or 洋泾浜) derives from the name of a former creek in Shanghai near the Bund where local workers communicated with English-speaking foreigners in pidgin.

[edit] Pronunciation

In most dialects of Chinese, voiced obstruent consonants (/b/, /d/, /g/, /dʒ/) do not exist properly. These dialects distinguish unvoiced aspirate and unvoiced unaspirate obstruents. Most Chinese perceive voiced obstruents as unvoiced unaspirates (e.g. /b/ becomes /p/), while unvoiced obstruents in other languages are all perceived as aspirate (e.g. /p/ becomes /pʰ/. This is reflected in several Romanization systems, notably Hanyu Pinyin (but not Wade-Giles). Thus, "buy" is pronounced /paɪ/, while "pie" remains /pʰaɪ/. When unaspirated obstruents occur in English (albeit non-phonemically) as in "spin" (/spɪn/), Chinese speakers would still pronounce them as if they were aspirate (/sɹ.ˈpʰin/). This applies equally to affricates, where "change", normally pronounced /tʃʰɛɪndʒ/, becomes /ˈtʃʰɛn.tʃi/ (or /ˈtɕʰɛn.tɕi/ if palatized).

In Cantonese pronunciation, some consonants are nowadays changed into other, for example N is often pronounced as L. Voiced sounds (/v/ and the /ʒ/ sound - eg. 'pleasure') cause difficulty, and some sounds are missing entirely, leaving words like "very" to be pronounced "wewy" and 'reservoir' to come out as 'viceroy'. In speech, there is also a tendency to add the sound "see" or "chi" at the end of certain singular letters, such as the letters "S" and "H" ('es-see' and 'ay-chi' respectively).

Similarly, there are no syllable codas (consonants at the end of syllables) in Mandarin with the exception of the "n" sound. When encountering such codas, a Mandarin speaker will either modify the consonant to form a separate syllable, or drop it altogether. Thus, for example, CCTV presenters pronounce the letters "L", "M", and "N" as [aɪ lə] ("ai-le"), [aɪ mu] ("ai-mu") and [ən] ("n") respectively.

As all varieties of Chinese are tonal languages, Chinese speakers sometimes apply tonal attributes to English, which is normally a stress-based language. Stressed syllables are generally given higher and falling tones over unstressed syllables. This imparts a "singsong" quality to the accent, a feature shared by speakers of other tonal (or pitch-stressed) languages.

[edit] Vocabulary

Chinglish government notice in Shanghai.

Examples include "to put in Jingzhang Expressway" instead of "entering Jingzhang Expressway"), and the use of "emergent" to mean "emergency" or "urgent". In the photo of the park regulations at right, the use of words such as "objectionable" and "inexpedient" is a further example.

As another example, when something is explained, the English learner may respond with "Oh, I know," while the appropriate response would be "Oh, I see." This is because "知道 zhīdao" is usually translated as know regardless of context. "When did you first recognize him?" is also sometimes used for "When did you first meet him?" because "认识[認識] rènshi" is usually translated as recognize as in "I recognize him from last week's party."

The English words see, watch, read and look at are all represented by the Chinese word “看 kàn", and may be used interchangeably. The situation of speak, say and talk is similar. Phrases like "Can you say Chinese?", "I am watching a book", and "Tomorrow I will look a movie" may be common.

Another example is "turn on/off" versus "open/close". In Chinese, "turn on" (in the sense of operating a switch or a machine) and "open" are rendered by the same character, and so are "turn off" and "close". The two terms may be used interchangeably.

[edit] Grammar

Examples include:

• using "me is" instead of "I am" (such as "Me is Jack")
• using awkward gerunds (such as "No Noising")
• excessive use of "the" when not needed (such as "The China is bigger than the France")
• excessive use of verbs with the "-ing" ending (such as "Please do not climbing"; in the photo below)
• excessive use of "to", the use of "to" with modals, preserving "to" in infinitive form even when unnecessary (e.g. "I must to go")
• confusion of -ed and -ing adjectives (e.g. "I am very boring" vs. "I am very bored"; "I was surprising" vs. "I was surprised")

The overuse of —ing, and the confusion of one word for another (a warning sign in Guilin)

• the overuse of "very" between "be" and an adjective (reflecting the use of "很" in Chinese)
• the use of "very" to modify verbs (e.g. "I very like it")
• the use of the singular when the plural would be more fitting (various examples can be seen in the park regulations above)

The above examples reflect the influence of Chinese syntax and grammar; in Chinese, verbs are not conjugated (either for tense or pronoun), and there is no equivalent word for "the."

Comma splices can occur frequently. This is due to the fact that in Chinese writing, the comma (逗號 "，") is all that is sufficient to terminate a clause without needing to follow with a conjunction. The equivalent of full stop (句號 "。") is usually reserved for the end of an idea, which theoretically may last as long as a paragraph.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Chinglish names

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Some Chinese pick non-traditional English names. Such names may be derived from vocabulary they learned in their early English lessons, including names such as Apple, Space, Can, Sea, Mooncake, Magic, Koala, Spider, Thunder, Cloudy, Airy, Rainbow, Table, Bird, Eleven, Hifi, Ice, Puppy, Well and other names of animals, plants, weather phenomena, household appliances, days of the week or months. They might choose products they like as their name, such as Cola or Nautica, or other more advanced words that may be picked for their sound or meaning such as Victory, Nation or even Cemetery.

Some choose Russian, Japanese, or Hispanic names, such as Yuri, Jun, or Antonio. Since most styles European names are widely used in English-speaking communities, these will seem less "odd" than other non-traditional names. These names may just be viewed as nicknames, and some Chinese may choose more common ones if they have to use their name in business or other more formal occasions.

Most (but not all) Chinese people living in Asia are given only Chinese names at birth, and choose their own English name at some point after they begin learning English (if they ever do). Although rare, some parents may name their child a Chinese phonetic translation of an English name, such as Suzie (Sook-Si in Cantonese), Raymond (Wai-Ming in Cantonese), Annie (On-Lei in Cantonese), Annie (An-ni or Anne in Mandarin), Joanne (Jia-An in Mandarin), Ivy (Ai-Li in Mandarin), Eileen (Yi-Lin in Mandarin), Pauline (Poh-Lin in Cantonese), Charlie (Jia-Li in Mandarin), Elaine (Yi-Lan in Mandarin), Maggie (Mei-Qi in Mandarin), Carmen (Kah Man in Cantonese), Ada (Ai-Da in Mandarin), or Joey (Jo Yee in Cantonese). This can be observed from the majority of Cantopop singers from Hong Kong adopting an English name that is somewhat a transliteration of their Chinese name as pronounced in Cantonese. For example: 陳奕迅 Chan Yik-Shun (Simplified: 陈奕迅; Jyutping: can yik seon; IPA:/'tsɐn 'jɪk 'sɵn/) is Eason Chan, 謝安琪 Tse On-Kei (Simplified: 谢安琪; Jyutping: ze on kei; IPA: /'tsɛː 'ɔːn 'kʰei/) is Kay Tse, and 容祖兒 Yung Cho-Yee (Simplified: 容祖儿; Jyutping: jung zou ji; IPA: /'jʊŋ 'tɕou 'jiː/) is Joey Yung.

[edit] Language humour

Some Chinglish phrases are created deliberately as language humour. Examples include:

• Open the door see mountain (verbatim translation from a Chinese idiom, meaning "to speak straightforwardly" — 开门见山/開門見山). Other such example may be "five flowers eight doors" (in Chinese, wǔ huā bā mén - 五花八门/五花八門), which means "kaleidoscopic" or "multifarious", and "people mountain people sea" (in Chinese, 人山人海 rén shan rén hai), meaning "a sea of people" or "a huge crowd".
• Un-ding-able (it has at least two different meanings in Cantonese. It could mean "no one can stand it" - 頂唔順, here 頂 ding means "to stand", "to endure" or "to tolerate". It could also mean "best of the best" - 無得頂, here 頂 means "to best".)
• You go see see lah (Go and have a look. — 你去睇睇啦) (please refer to Hong Kong English or Singlish. Chinese: 你去看看啦). Some aspects of Chinese involves repetition of words to indicate a verb, which in a similar context could include Try try see (go try it — 試試看), sometimes less commonly, run one run (to take a walk - 跑一跑), or wait wait me ba (Wait for me - 等等我吧).
• Good good study, day day up (verbatim translation from a Chinese Communist-era saying by Mao Zedong, meaning "study hard, keep improving" (好好学习﹑天天向上 hǎohao xuéxí, tiāntiān xiàngshàng).
• Horse horse tiger tiger (verbatim Mandarin Chinese translation for so-so or mediocre - 馬馬虎虎)
• Open water or white open water (another instance of verbatim translation, which 開 technically means "open", but in this context it means to boil, which means "[plain] boiled water", as in [白]開水). Though occasionally jokingly used amongst other Asians, it is also a common error and creates confusion outside of Chinese culture, most notably in restaurants or other forms of hospitality that may serve drinks (e.g. cafés, house guests, etc.) where the person being asked may be unaware of the asker's demands.

[edit] Chinglish in Mainland China

Chinglish is becoming a problem for major cities such as Beijing. In Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the city authorities are clamping down on the usage of Chinglish and replacing it with standard English.^[4] Among other examples, signs that previously read: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty" may read "Caution - slippery path". Other notable examples include: "Oil gate" (accelerator), "confirming distance" (keep space, distance verification), and so on.^[5]

Chinglish can also prove to be a problem for Chinese companies attempting to market products overseas in English-speaking countries. Product labeling can be nonsensical or unintentionally humorous.

A more sensible translation is "Everyone is responsible for protecting the greenery!"

[edit] "Welcome to"

One of the more noticeable cases of Chinglish, especially on mainland China, is the phrase welcome to. This is used as a direct translation in Chinese, "歡迎". It actually means "we invite you to" or "you are welcome to", and is used more as an incentive to the activity introduced or as a form of "thank you". Its use is almost always cordial, inviting, or otherwise positive. A more confusing matter arises with the usage of the phrase welcome again. The phrase is typically displayed in such a manner that it is seen at the end of activities such as bus rides or visits to bookstores, and would be translated as a message of thanks, and that the visitor is welcome back at any time. An equivalent phrase in English-speaking countries might be "Please come again."

Examples:

• Welcome to ride Line 52 Bus = Thank you for riding Bus Line 52, or You are welcome to ride Bus Line 52.
• Welcome to ride Line 13 again = Thank you for riding Line 13, and we would be pleased to welcome you back aboard at any time.
• Welcome to take my taxi = Thank you for taking my taxi, or You are welcome to take my taxi.
• Welcome to listen to my news = Thanks for tuning in!
• Welcome to use ATM service = (found very often on ATMs) means thanks for using this ATM.

[edit] Chinglish phrases used by native English speakers

Long time no see is often attributed as an example of Chinglish being used by native English speakers. The phrase is said to have originated from 好耐冇見(喇)(Cantonese)/好久不見(了)(Mandarin). These Chinglish phrases were used by dock workers to greet sailors from overseas.

It began in the early 1900s when British and American warships and trading ships often stayed at Chinese docks, and through pidgin communications with dock workers, started to communicate in what is now known as Chinglish. The sailors used the phrase long time no see as a joke when they got home and somehow the phrase became widely used even in English-speaking countries. A more grammatically correct phrase of English should be I haven't seen you for a long time.

The phrase has also been said to originate from trade with American Indians. Similar seemingly grammatically "incorrect" phrases (such as "no pain, no gain") are common and native to English; thus "long time no see" may have been just a coincidence.

[edit] Examples of Chinglish expressions

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Anti-Earthquake Memorial: actually an Earthquake Memorial

The following are some instances of Chinglish, along with a description of where they may be found and what they mean when translated into standard English: (Additional examples can be found here. ^[5])

• To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty. (注意安全 坡道路滑) (Beijing) = Be careful, slippery slopes. ^[6]
• To put out Xuanda Expressway. To put in Jingzhang Expressway. (Xuanda Expressway) = Now leaving Xuanda Expressway, now entering Jingzhang Expressway.
• Rain or snow day. Bridge, slow-driving. (All expressways in Hebei) = Slow down when driving on the bridge during rain or snow.
• Oil gate. / Into. (4th Ring Road (Beijing)) = Gas station. / Entrance.
• Smoking is prohibited if you will be fined 50 yuan. = Smoking is prohibited. Violators are subject to a fine of 50 yuan.
• Being urgent call 110 quickly. (Beijing) = During an emergency, call 1-1-0. (1-1-0 is the police hotline in China.)
• Complaining tel. (投诉电话 / 投訴電話) = Complaint hotline.
• When you leave car, please turn off door and window, take your valuable object = When leaving the car, be sure to lock the doors and windows, and take all valuables with you.
• Don't forget to take your thing. = Don't forget to take your personal belongings.
• Deformed man toilet. and Crippled restroom. = Public toilet for the disabled.
• Disabled Elevators = Elevator for handicapped people. (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport formerly CKS Airport, Taipei)
• When you across hard you can ring TEL (number). = In case of an emergency, please call (number).
• X Bank Shaoguan Cent Company (某银行韶关分公司 / 某銀行韶關分公司) = X Bank Shaoguan Subsidiary
• Many Function Hall (多功能室) (Shanghai) - Multifunctional Hall
• We can't stand the sight of mattress fragrant grass = Don't step on the grass
• Convenient noodles (方便面 / 方便麵) = instant noodles, the Chinese name literally meaning "convenient noodles".
• Comic noodles = instant noodles used in Cantonese-speaking regions.
• China smoke wine & A Smoke a Wine (中国烟酒 / 中國煙酒) = Alcohol and tobacco store, Beijing
• Speaking cellphone strictly prohibited when thunderstorm - (Beijing) = The use of a cell phone during a thunderstorm is strictly prohibited.
• No entry in peacetime = Not for normal entry. Emergency Exit. (Beijing Capital International Airport)
• The too longer, too higher, overweight and the dangerous things are not allowed to be carried = Escalator, Xidan, Beijing = Objects that are too long, too tall, too heavy, as well as hazardous objects are not to be carried here.
• The older, the children, the deformities, the patients and the pregnant women should take the escalator with his guardian together. = Escalator warning, Xidan, Beijing = Seniors, children, the disabled, patients, as well as pregnant women should be accompanied by a guardian.
• Extraordinary Door (非常门 / 非常門) = Emergency Exit. The confusion may result in a less-common usage of 非常, where it means "Emergency" (as in "非常时期") while normally it means "Extraordinary". Incidentally, this is the standard usage in Japanese. A less ambiguous term in Chinese for "Emergency Exit" would be 緊急出口.
• Protect Circumstance begin with me. (保护环境从我开始 / 保護環境從我開始) = Protecting the environment starts with me; an environmental protection slogan found on litter bins.
• Prevent Health Care Section (预防保健科 / 預防保健科) = Preventative Medicine - a sign found in a hospital in Wuhan. The error stems from the slippery nature of word forms (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) in Chinese grammar.
• Careful Landslip, Attention Security (小心地滑 注意安全) = Warning: Slippery Floor (for your own safety). (Jinan International Airport)
• Carefully meet (小心碰头 / 小心碰頭) = Watch your head. (Convenience store in Beijing) This is to warn customers not to hit their head on the low ceiling above stairways. The word 碰头 / 碰頭 in Chinese literally means to bump one's head, but also means to meet or to have a gathering. A variation seen in Nanjing subway stations for the same Mandarin phrase: "Attention Your Head."
• Cold, hot water in Normal = Alternating cold and hot water (in the showers) is normal. Sign in No.5 Guesthouse in Old Dali, Yunnan.
• Emergent Water = Water for flushing in case of faulty flush-tank. From a bucket in a toilet in Old Dali, Yunnan.
• Welcome Next Time = Sign upon exiting the Cangshan Mountain Cablecar, Dali Old Town, Yunnan = You're welcome to visit us again.
• Ban the use for maintenance of equipment = Out of order pending repairs. On a toilet by the Great Wall, near Jinshanling.
• Site of Jumping Umbrella = Paragliding Site
• Please would paper chuck in wastebin Thank you! = In a public toilet in Shanghai = Please throw the toilet paper in to the wastebin. Thank you!
  

  

  Public toilet in Shanghai
• Racist Park = Ethnic Minorities Park
• Protect Environment, Saving Bumf (支持环保 节约用纸 / 支持環保 節約用紙) = Protect the Environment, use less paper. (Jinan International Airport)
• Don't use it while stabilizing, Do not be occupying while stabilizing, No occupying while stabilizing = Do not use the toilet while the train is stopping at a station. (Train toilets).
• Visit in civilisation, pay attention to hygiene! (文明旅游，注意卫生！/ 文明旅遊，注意衛生！) = This is a message mainly aimed at locals and other people who would otherwise visit somewhere in a sloppy or rude manner.
• No gambling promote leagal entertainment = anti-gambling propaganda poster by the Beijing police.
• The Familiar Food Make Sures the Price (熟食计价处 / 熟食計價處) = A poor translation of "Cooked (Prepared) Foods Pricing Department" on a sign at the above supermarket in China. The word for "cooked" (熟) can also mean "familiar" in other contexts. As above, the characters comprising the word for "pricing" or "valuation" (计价 / 計價) can be translated separately as "make sure" (计 / 計) and "price" (价 / 價).
• After first under on, do riding with civility. (先下后上 文明乘车) = Sign in the Shanghai Metro advising passengers to let others disembark before boarding trains.
• The visitor halts (游人止步) = Restricted area to visitors. Found at the Yonghe Temple (Beijing).
• Do not throw urine around = A sign in the male toilets of Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai.
• Machine room is serious place. (机房重地 / 機房重地) = Engine room - Caution. (normally used for computer room)
• To run business (营业中 / 營業中 [lit. "operating"] = commonly seen sign in mainland China and Taiwan) = Open.
• Drink tea (休息中 [lit. "resting"] = commonly seen sign in Taiwan) = Closed (during a break).
• Fragrant fragile walnut meat biscuits = type of walnut cookie, made by Dali Group
• Burned meat biscuit = BBQ (meat) flavoured biscuit
• Please Drive Correctly = traffic sign reminding people to obey the traffic rules

Sign on a Taiwan government building door

• Please Steek Gently = Please close door gently (关门 / 關門 is an entry in a Chinese-English dictionary yielding steek, archaic.)
• New Shipu Hotel = not a hotel but a restaurant. The confusion results from the Chinese word "饭店 / 飯店" which can mean both hotel and restaurant (c.f. inn). Although alternative words are available to make the distinction, this word is often used by owners when naming their establishment.
• Welcome to our fine restaurant = sign in a hotel room (see note above)
• Small two pots of heads = Erguotou (二锅头 / 二鍋頭), a type of Baijiu, appearing on a menu inside Oriental Plaza, Beijing
• Deep fried ghost or deep fried devil and oil fried ghost (油炸鬼) = A literal translation of a name for Youtiao used in southern China.
• Xin Zhong Guo Kids Stuff = a toy and parenting store, (name of the store is "New China") Wangfujing, Beijing
• Bake the Cell Phone (烘手机 / 烘手機) = Hand dryer (a result of poor parsing)
• Kindly Treat the Virescence around in the Way Life is Treated = Treat the grass in the same way as you would treat life. "Virescence" is a rarely-seen word meaning "greenness." Found at Tiger Hill in Suzhou.
• Waiting Office = Waiting hall. Found at Zhongdian main bus terminal, Yunnan.
• Gentals = Toilet sign in a four star hotel, Beijing.
• Male man toilet = Toilet sign in main bus station, Beijing.
• Van Gogh Preferred Banking = Advertising slogan for branch of foreign bank, near the Bund, Shanghai. (Van Gogh was wretchedly poor for most of his adult life until his death).
• The Chain-Bridge runs East and West like a Rainbow = Sign pointing towards a chain-bridge near Jinshanling, on the Great Wall.
• Rubbish Receptacle = engraved on a stone lion garbage 'can' in Luoyang.
• Rear Service (后勤 / 後勤）= Administrative and Student Services, as appeared in Dalian Medical University web site
• Fuck the Certain Price of Goods (干货计价处 / 乾[幹]貨計價處) = A translation of "Dry Goods Pricing Department" on a sign at supermarket in China. The merger of the traditional character for "dry" (乾) and the character meaning "to do" (幹), also commonly used to denote the vulgarity "fuck," into one single simplified character (干) [dry] likely led to this confusion. ^[7] The characters comprising the word for "pricing" or "valuation" (计价 / 計價) can be translated separately as "certain" (计 / 計) and "price" (价 / 價).
• You are enough (你已經說夠了) = That's enough
• Haw a thick soup = Soup made from the Haw, which is the fruit of the Hawthorn. "Haw" is no longer common in English. (made by a Chengde company)
• Question Authority = If you have questions, please ask the official in charge. OR Information centre. Could be mistaken for a call to revolution.
• The City is Clean. The People are Happy = Do not litter, as written on the back of a bag of crisps, next to the common man-and-trashcan icon.
• In 2007, there was great breakthrough in the reserve increasing of energy and mineral resources in China = On the Chinese government booth at the 2008 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Conference, announcing a significant increase in known energy and mineral reserves in the country.

[edit] References

1. ^ Jing, Xiao and Zuo, Niannian. (2006). Chinglish in the oral work of non-English majors. CELEA Journal Vol. 29, No. 4 [1]
2. ^ Nury Vittachi (2000). From Yinglish to sado-mastication. World Englishes 19 (3) , 405–414 doi:10.1111/1467-971X.00189
3. ^ Guan, Meng. China English, Chinglish and English Learning. US-China Foreign Language. May 2007, Volume 5, No.5
4. ^ BBC News (15/10/06) - Beijing stamps out poor English
5. ^ ^{a b} Radtke, Oliver Lutz (2007). Chinglish Found in Translation. China: [2], 110. ISBN 10 1-4236-0335-4. 
6. ^ David Feng (July 2006). To Take Notice of Safe. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
7. ^ Mair, Victor. "The Etiology and Elaboration of a Flagrant Mistranslation". Language Log, December 9, 2007. Accessed April 30, 2008.

[edit] See also

• Engrish
• Hong Kong English
• Japlish
• Konglish
• Non-native pronunciations of English
• Singlish

[edit] External links

• Chinglish.com Chinese-English dictionary
• The Chinglish Collection : Pocopico.com
• The Chinglish Files
• Engrish.com Chinglish Collection