Beijing 2008 drawing closer, Chinglish going stronger?
News concerning Beijing efforts to rid the streets of Chinglish is not hard to find in the 2008 Olympics run up. A hotline was set up for citizens to report poor English translations and over 2,000 renowned Chinese dishes were formally rebaptized into proper yet unimaginative English.
In spite of these efforts, Chinglish may come out stronger than ever. Flickr now has over 5,500 results tagged “Chinglish,” an increasing number of photos being submitted every day; Facebook started its own Chinglish Group, and Chinese-English puns find their way into mainstream advertizing, as witnessed by the 牛肉饭tastic McDonalds wrapping.
It is conceivable that the upcoming Olympics will turn out to be a catalyst for Chinglish rather than a nail into its linguistic coffin. With the cover of this week’s Economist in mind, the resounding question is whether this is good or bad for the world.
Whatever the outcome, Chinglish dot com is anticipating a surge in bilingual self-expression by introducing a professional proofreading service. Native speaking proofreaders cater to those who are uncomfortable with the idea of Chinese-English transforming into an accepted language of communication. The confusion of tongues in The Economist’s rendition of Breugel’s Tower may be surmountable after all.
- Chinglish logo photoshopped onto the cover of The Economist, July 5, 2008
- See original cover here