Chinglish: To Eradicate or to Preserve?

In a recent NY Times article, I discovered an important and new point of view on Chinglish, as it is used in China. Chinglish is the fusion language of Chinese and English (much like Franglais and Spanglish). It is prominent in China on street signs, restaurant menus, and other public places and things such as drinks. For example, there exists "The Jew's Ear Juice" and clothing sizes representing large that are instead "fatso" or "lard bucket." These horrid translations are often humorous, but on a more serious note, they are embarrassing, unprofessional, and often unsuccessful at communicating important messages. For English speakers trying to get around Beijing, confusing signs such as this one that reads "Because if the tourist does not obey the staff to manage or contrary holds, Does, all consequences are proud" which is supposed to instruct visitors the entry requirements for a park, do not serve their purpose but merely serve as an embarrassing reminder that the government is not appropriately handling translations.

However, despite the inconvenience and confusion these mistranslations cause native English speakers, some Chinese are strong supporters of their existence. Oliver Lutz Radtke, a former German radio personality and expert on Chinglish argues that the fusion language provides insight into how Chinese people think and the importance of Chinese language structure, as seen in the attempted translations. He said, “If you standardize all these signs, you not only take away the little giggle you get while strolling in the park but you lose a window into the Chinese mind." They reveal the poetic nature of the language. For example, instead of warning, "stay off the grass" some signs read "The Little Grass Is Sleeping. Please Don’t Disturb It." A quick Google search revealed a Facebook groups calling to "Save Chinglish!" and also this website, http://chinglish.com/main, that is the home of the Chinese-English Chamber of Commerce that calls Chinglish the "new approach to language and trade."

Regardless, the government, with the help of volunteers, has been documenting these mistakes and attempting to correct them. This process began in 2001 when China was chosen to host the 2008 Olympics, and in 2002, the Beijing Tourism Bureau created a hotline that allows English speaking residents and visitors to report mistranslations. Since then, over 400,000 street signs and 1,300 restaurant menus have been replaced. As Beijing becomes ever more important as an international business capitol, the Chinese government sees the need to make the city more accessible and professional-looking for English speaking visitors.

According to Wikipedia (I must admit, not the best source, so please excuse me if the information isn't totally correct, and please correct me if you are familiar with Chinese!!) mistranslations are often due to major differences between the Chinese and English languages. For example, in Chinese there is no equivalent for the word "the," so on signs, it is often used excessively or not at all. Also, commas in Chinese are used without a conjunction and periods are only used to indicated the end of a train of thought, so they aren't used until the end of a passage in most cases. This difference explains the misuse of commas and periods in translations.

It's interesting to me to think that there are people out there fighting for the preservation of this modern, hybrid language. To me, it seems that the prevalence of Chinglish in Beijing is more of an inconvenience than anything else, and sadly I cannot agree with Radtke who sees Chinglish as an endangered language that deserves to be preserved. Although, I do enjoy finding humorous examples online. What do you think? Does it qualify as a real language, and if so, is it worth preserving?


Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6052800.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/world/asia/03chinglish.html?pagewanted=2
http://chinglish.com/main