How you would miss the 2008 Olympics

This picture is taken by Yoyoor Smart Phone in Hangzhou railway station. We're sure you won’t be able to see the Olympics if you really go to “BAIJING”.

Chinglish: you’ve probably already seen examples among the photos of friends who took a recent trip to China. Even some of the country’s major tourist attractions still have signs that say things like “Careful Drowning” and “Slip Cautiously”. There’s even the infamous “Old Man’s Child Must Accompany On Hand Ladder” sign at Hangzhou’s Leifeng Pagoda (alerting visitors to accompany children on the escalator).

As China gears up for the 2008 Olympics, these types of signs are becoming harder and harder to find, especially in Beijing. Hotlines have been set up in the capital for anyone who spots a Chinglish sign to call and report it so that it can be edited, and they must be ringing off the hook.

But Chinglish students don’t need to worry, there is still plenty of amusing Chinglish to find throughout China; not just on signs but on product packaging, event posters, and announcements at sites. Menus are a great place to practice your Chinglish as well. As an added bonus, with the Olympics about to begin, thousands of new multi-lingual signs and announcements have been put up to make things easier to understand for overseas visitors, but many of these signs are written in classic Chinglish.

Outside of Beijing, real-life Chinglish lessons are easy to find as well. Even a place like Shanghai, as one of the first cities to try to translate their Chinese into English, now has many out-of-date signs that could use a re-translation. The one from Caohe Jing Hi-tech Park that says “Civilization Is From Everything Thing” is a perfect example.

So if you are a Chinglish major or just a linguaphile, Beijing 2008 is the place to be. Of course, if you really can’t understand Chinglish, not to mention all those Chinese translation problems, be sure to bring a language dictionary. Better yet, Yoyoor’s rental phone features a 24-7 bilingual call center to get you through those “lost in translation” moments.

Enjoy the Olympics and have fun in Baijing!

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Posted at 11:07AM Aug 21, 2008 by admin in Olympics  |  Comments[2]