Chinglish

Chinglish, a portmanteau of the words Chinese and English, is any poor or 'broken' English spoken by native Chinese speakers. Chinglish is usually found in written form. Famous examples include "no'k you" as a response to "thank you" and ok lah. (The second example is both Chinglish and Singlish.)

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. It actually means "we invite you to" or "you are welcome to", and is used more as an incentive to the activity introduced; or is used 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. This is used more at the end of, for example, a bus ride, or a visit to a bookstore, 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.
• 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.

Contents

1 Types of Chinglish 2 Language humour 3 Effects 4 Cases of Chinglish 5 See also 6 External links

Types of Chinglish

Deformed and grammatically erroneous usage of English, which shows the writer "thinking in Chinese while writing in English", may also be considered Chinglish. Such examples include verbatim word-for-word translation. Samples include "Wipe out six injurious insect" (to wipe out six types of insects, including cockroaches and mosquitoes) and as well as "enjoy stand" (a scenic viewpoint).

Inaccurate pronunciation or misspellings through typos or poor pronounciation may also "create" Chinglish. For example, the word "temple" and "temper" may be confused, and someone could be pointed to a "temper" when "temple" was intended. Note that the two English words, when poorly pronounced, may resemble each other to the extent that the two are indistinguishable; this further creates confusion. Sometimes, the poor pronunciation of a single English word can create a Chinglish pronunciation that is almost nothing like the original English word. For example, the company named "Zellers" (part of the Hudson's Bay Company) is often incorrectly pronounced as "Se La".

Chinglish can be "created" by common patterns of grammatical errors. For example, excessive use of "the" when not needed and the excessive use of verbs with the "-ing" ending are common characteristics of Chinglish. An excess use of "to", the use of "to" with modals (e.g. "I must to go"), the confusion of -ed and -ing adjectives (e.g. "I am very boring" vs. "I am very bored"), the overuse of "very" between "be" and an adjective (reflecting the use of "很" in Chinese), the use of "very" to modify verbs, the use of the passive when the active is more appropriate, and wrong usage of verb tenses may also give rise to Chinglish phrases.

Erroneous vocabulary usage (e.g. "to put in Jingzhang Expressway" instead of "entering Jingzhang Expressway") can also qualify as Chinglish. Another common mistake is the use of "emergent" to mean "emergency" or "urgent". Many of these errors stem from misuse of, or errors in, dictionaries.

Chinglish may possibly also refer to typos ("toll gtae" instead of "toll gate", for example) although whether a mere typo qualifies as Chinglish may be debatable.

Chinglish can also be more specifically a creole, that uses both English and Chinese vocabulary in the same sentence. This is particularly evident in areas that have both English and Chinese as official languages, such as Singapore and Hong Kong. (When specifically discussing the English dialect of Singapore, Singlish may be more appropriate.)

Chinglish may also loosely refer to the distinctly Chinese-dominated accent spoken by speakers of English in China, although this definition may not be widely in acceptance or may only be gaining acceptance.

Language humour

Although most Chinglish phrases originated from poor English, plenty of Chinglish phrases were created as language humor. For example:

1. Open the door see mountain (verbatim translation from a Chinese idiom, meaning "to speak straightforwardly"). Another such example may be "five flowers eight doors" (in Chinese, wǔ huā bā mén), which means "plentiful".
2. Un-ding-able (it means "can't stand it". 頂 ding in Cantonese means "to stand against")
3. You go see see lah (Go and have a look.) (please refer to Hong Kong English)

In early and mid-20th century, Chinglish was derogatorily called "pidgin" (洋涇濱, or 洋泾浜) in Chinese.

Effects

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 proper English. Thus, signs that previously read: "To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty" may read, in proper English, "Caution - slippery path", et cetera. Some other examples include: "Oil gate" (filling station), "confirming distance" (keep space, distance verification), and so on and so forth.

Cases of Chinglish

These cases are mere examples of Chinglish, and what they mean when correctly translated into English:

• To take notice of safe: The slippery are very crafty. (Beijing) = Be careful, slippery slopes.
• To put out Xuanda Expressway. To put in Jingzhang Expressway. (Xuanda Expressway) = Now leaving Xuanda Expressway, now entering Jingzhang Expressway.
• Decimbing path. (Jingzhang Expressway) = Descent.
• Rain or snow day. Bridge, slow-driving. (All expressways in Hebei) = Slow on bridge in case of rain or snow.
• Oil gate. / Into. (4th Ring Road (Beijing)) = Filling station. / Entrance.
• Smoking is prohibited if you will be fined 50 yuan. = Smoking is prohibited, penalties for violators is 50 yuan.
• Please come down from your bicycle. = Please dismount from your bicycle.
• If you have trouble ask for the policeman. or If in trouble find police = In case of trouble, dial the police.
• Being urgent call 110 quickly. (Beijing) = In cases of emergency, please call 110. (110 = police phone line in China, equivalent to 911 in America)
• Waiting will be prosecuted. = No parking.
• Complaining tel. = Customer service telephone.
• When you leave car, please turn off door and window, take your valuable object = Be sure to lock your doors and windows and take all valuables with you.
• Engine room is serious place. = Engine room - Important.
• Don't forget to take your thing. = Don't forget your personal belongings.
• Visit in civilisation, pay attention to hygiene! This is a message mainly aimed at locals and other people who would otherwise visit somewhere in a sloppy manner.
• Deformed man toilet. = Public conveniences for the disabled.
• When you across hard you can ring TEL (number). = In case of emergency, please call (number).
• Danger! Inhibition astraddle transgress. = Danger! No entry.
• X Bank Shaoguan Cent Company (某银行韶关分公司) = X Bank Shaoguan Subsidiary
• To run business (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.
• Many Function Hall (多功能室) (Shanghai) - Multifunctional Hall

See also

• Engrish

External links

• Ever Heard of Chinglish? (http://www.kybernaut.de/modern/06-1996/kulturchinglish.html)
• The Chinglish Files (http://www.silverladder.com/literature/chinglish/chinglish.htm)