Lost in translation
What would you think if someone asked you to ‘please bump your head carefully’? Or to ‘leave your values at the front desk’? These are just two examples of a phenomenon known as ‘Chinglish’ – where English phrases take on somewhat comic meaning due to being lost in translation from Chinese.
The subject of many websites and humorous quotes has now taken a far greater significance for authorities in Shanghai, which has just announced a major programme to clean up these phrases which appear on signs across the city.
With Shanghai due to host the World Expo next year, there is a feeling that widespread examples of Chinglish could prove a major embarrassment. As a result hordes of students are now scouring the city to report any incidents they find. Owners of signs will then be requested to make the appropriate changes.
In a way it’s the written equivalent of what often happens when non-native speakers of a language try to translate words and phrases directly without a richer grasp of meaning. It’s not hard to imagine that there are many similar comic incidents that happen across the continent every summer as the Brits travel abroad.
The difference here of course is that there is something much more permanent about the written word. While spoken language is subject to the same rules and structures as the written word, it is also a much freer environment in which to communicate. No-one spell checks your speech, or makes sure your commas and semi-colons are in the right place.
In a two-way dialogue these mis-meanings are much more easily understood and have only a momentary existence. When they’re written on a sign for all to see they become much more permanent and open to scrutiny.
It may seem a long way from these obvious and extreme examples in Shanghai to the world of marketing communications, but in fact the parallels are there for all to see. While English and Chinese may be two very dramatically different languages, there are often similar gulfs between the language that an organisation uses and the language that its customers or stakeholders understand.
The Plain English Campaign would no doubt approve of the work done in Shanghai to avoid any confusion for the English-speaking target audiences of the signs, but it would also agree that there is much to be done with the way that English is used among its native speakers.
It’s questionable whether the majority of people in this country would find it harder to understand one of the Chinglish signs or one of the many examples awarded a Golden Bull by the Plain English campaign.
So by all means have a chuckle at Chinglish, but make sure you have a long hard look at your own communications first.