China clamps down on embarrassing ‘Chinglish’ translation fails like ‘Star f**ks’ and ‘racist park’
The government has issued a national standard for writing English because dodgy translations are tarnishing the country's image
HOLIDAYMAKERS visiting China love many things about the country including the food, the scenery… and the hilarious translations into English.
But the dodgy “Chinglish” that is found on signs and packaging could soon disappear.
This week, the government issued a guide to written English.
According to the local paper People’s Daily, the authorities are fed up with the poor translations as they believe that it doesn’t do their image any good.
A new national standard has been issued by China’s Standardisation Administration and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
It dictates which English should be used for various public settings, like in hospitals, shopping centres and transportation.
According to People’s Daily, the standard will be put into place on December 1 and will indicate correct grammar and vocabulary, with translators encouraged to stay away from rare words.
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Discriminatory words have also been banned, and direct translation discouraged.
For example, when the Park of Ethnic Minorities was directly translated as “Racist Park,” and a disabled toilet was labelled “Special for deformed.”
The problem isn't just a one way street though.
For decades now, Western tourists have been getting Chinese symbol tattoos that have turned out to be completely inaccurate.
For example, one tourist thought their tattoo meant "Friendship" but it actually read: "Bad looking, shame, ugly, unclean."
