Untitled Document
The only D grade I got in college was in my French
class. I should have received an F, but the professor probably feared
that if he failed me I might take his class again. So I’m in no position to
criticize anyone who’s trying to grapple with foreign-language
translations. Therefore I say “blessings on you” to the Chinese
government for trying to tidy up the many mistranslations that occur when
Chinese meets English. Their impetus is next
year’s Summer Olympics, when half-a-million foreigners will arrive in
their land, many of them English-speaking. Some of China’s public
signs and menus already have English translations, but they’re a bit
mangled. For example, they won’t get many visitors to “Racist
Park” unless they find a better term to describe this theme park,
which extols China’s minority cultures.
Also, few will want to have a plate of “Crap in
the Grass” — until the menu is reworded to read, “Carp in
the Grass.” Likewise, many will pause before ordering
“Pockmarked Grandma Chen’s Tofu.” Might be tasty, but
let’s rethink the wording. Then there’s a sign at a popular tourist site that offers
contorted instructions: “Coming and going in turn and don’t
stretch out your head to watch please.” Another sign warns of a wet
floor: “The Slippery Are Very Crafty.” Actually, if that
message were placed on the floors of the U.S. Capitol building, we
Americans would understand it perfectly and be on guard against lurking
lobbyists.
Not only are the Chinese going
all out to get its English right on signs and menus, they are also
attempting to teach 300 English phrases to 48,000 taxi drivers. Can
you imagine trying to teach Chinese to American taxi drivers?
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator,
columnist, and author.
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2007.
