網站 http://www.happyforum.org/ 歡迎超連結並轉寄網址
論壇 http://www.happyforum.org/happy/ 歡迎至論壇討論
Time：第112次例會，2007年06月23日（週六）下午2:30~5:30
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
14:30~15:30 (Free Talks)
15:30~16:00(Speaker Session)
16:00~17:15 (Topic Discussion)
17:15~17:30 (Happy Time)
Host: Amy Kao
Assistant Host: Bess Chung
Topic: An Olympic Effort
Source:
Global Voice from May's magazine of 2007, page 19 – 21
Many people in China regard next summer’s Olympic game as a symbol of their country’s rise to global power. Anticipation of the international event is fuelling national pride, while preparation for it has included huge efforts to address Beijing’s traffic, pollution and aesthetic shortcomings. The upcoming Olympics have even sparked campaigns to improve social etiquette, and to make people smile more.
In early February, the Beijing city government announced another campaign – to get rid of the poor English translations that appear everywhere on the city’s signs. Under the program, 10 teams of linguists have until October to patrol the city’s streets, parks, subways, museums and so on, in search of English gaffes to correct. Their job is to simply photograph the faulty signs and log their locations.
Although many of the signs are being replaced right now, a manpower push involving thousands of workers and volunteers will begin in October so that the job will be complete by next summer. By all accounts, the program is not a half-hearted attempt to replace most of the city’s quirky signs. Demolition crews can be seen in the city, tearing down even large signs engraved in concrete and marble. The program also involves translating the menus in all of Beijing restaurant.
English is on Beijing’s signs. However, the opposite is true. Most foreigners in Beijing feel that the government’s program is causing the city to lose some of its character.
One American expatriate in Beijing called the faulty signs “one of the great things we want to show people visiting us,” and another said that correcting them is “really taking away one of the joys of China.” The bad translations on Beijing’s signs – called “Chinglish” by many range from humorous to baffling to offensive, but they have amused foreigners for decades. Just a few examples can explain why foreigners are lamenting their loss.
Some public men’s room doors read “Genitl Emen,” and some restrooms for the handicapped are labeled “Deformed man. “ A fertility hospital bills itself as the “Tian Lun Sterility Hospital” and atop a proctology hospital in Beijing is an enormous sign declaring “Hospital for Anus and Intestine Disease.”
Before getting on the ski lift at Beijing’s Nanshan ski resort, foreigners are warned to “Don’t make skies fall down!!!” A common Beijing street sign warns, “To take notice of safe, the slippery are very crafty,” and emergency exit doors at the city’s airport are labeled “no entry in peacetime.”
The English on signs throughout China is poor because municipal governments typically assigned the job of translating signs to employees with only rudimentary English skills and a dictionary. English instruction only began in China in the late 1970s, as part of the country’s new policies on economic reform and openness after the Cultural Revolution.
Although it’s a daunting task, it appears that Beijing is determined to rid itself of all of its bad signs in time for the Olympics.
China, however, certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on poor translations. The website engrish.com is devoted to poking fun at English-deficient Japan. Taiwan’s ubiquitous “Drink Tea/To Run Business” sign has Chinglish on both sides, and an elevator for handicapped people in Taoyuan Airport reads, “Disabled Elevator.” People in Taiwan often wear T-shirts with nonsense English on them, but a pop fad for Americans is to tattoo nonsense Chinese right on their skin!
Vocabulary:
- Anticipation 期望 - gaffe 出醜 - proctology 直腸病學
- Aesthetic 美學 - faulty 錯誤 - rudimentary 基本的
- Shortcoming 缺點 - quirky 古怪 - ubiquitous 普遍存在的
- Linguist 語言學家 - expatriate 移民
- Patrol 遊行 - baffling 困惑
Phrases:
- ski lift
- take notice of
- Cultural Revolution
- Poke fun at
- Social etiquette
- Get rid of
- In search of
- By all accounts
- Demolition crew
Questions:
1. Do you think Taiwan can be the host of Olympic games? Why or Why not?
2. What is the big deal with hosting the Olympic game, which last for two weeks? Please elaborate.
3. Are you going to participate this celebration if you have free time? How much are you going to spend?
例會須知 參與例會，請自行列印當週的討論文章並帶至現場，圖示如下：
請將社團網站，加入我的最愛 http://www.happyforum.org/
台北，每週六 (2005年6月起)
Taipei, Saturday, Weekly
from June, 2005
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
高雄，每月最後一個週日 (2007年4月起)
Kaohsiung, Final Sunday, Monthly
from April, 2007
Place：
viewtopic.php?t=15
