Chinglish

Outline  Definition of “Chinglish”  Other Inter-language Varieties of English  History  The Influence  The Olympic in 2001  Shanghai Expo 2010  The Cause of Chinglish  The Features of Chinglish  Examples  Conclusion

Definition  Chinglish refers to spoken or written English language that is influenced by the Chinese language.  In Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong Province, the term "Chinglish" refers mainly to Cantonese-influenced English.  This term is commonly applied to ungrammatical or nonsensical English in Chinese contexts.  Other terms used to describe the phenomenon include "Chinese English” and "China English”

Other Inter-language Varieties of Englsih  Other inter-language varieties of English include:  Britalian (from Italian), Czenglish (from Czech), Denglisch (German), Dunglish (Dutch), Franglais (French), Greeklish (Greek), Spanglish (Spanish), Swenglish (Swedish), Hunglish (Hungarian), Heblish (Hebrew), Japlish (Japanese), Hinglish (Hindi), Konglish (Korean), Singlish (in Singapore) and Tinglish (Thai).

History  English first arrived in China in  In the 17th century, Chinese Pidgin English originated as a lingua franca for trade between British people and Cantonese-speaking Chinese people.  Following the First and Second Opium War between 1839–1842, Pidgin English spread north to Shanghai and other treaty ports.

History  Pidgin usage began to decline in the late 19th century when Chinese and missionary schools began teaching Standard English.  In 1982, the People's Republic of China made English the main foreign language in education.  Current estimates for the number of English learners in China range from 300 to 500 million.

The Influence  Chinglish may have influenced some English expressions, for instance:  "lose face" derives from diulian 丟臉 ”  "long time no see" is a Chinglish phrase from 好久 不見 ”  (Other references note this American English phrase "used as a greeting after prolonged separation" was first recorded in 1900 for a Native American's speech, and thus more likely derives from American Indian Pidgin English.)

The Olympic in 2001  Tourism Bureau established a hotline for Chinglish errors on signs, such as emergency exits at the Beijing airport reading "No entry on peacetime”

The Olympic in 2001  In 2007, the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program (BSFLP) reported they had, "worked out 4,624 pieces of standard English translations to substitute the Chinglish ones on signs around the city", for instance:

Shanghai Expo 2010  In Shanghai, for Expo 2010, a similar effort was made to replace Chinglish signs.  It is estimated that more than 10,000 public signs were replaced.

The Cause of Chinglish The Cause:  Lack of inclusion of native speakers of English in the translation or editing process  Dictionary translation: translating Chinese to English word for word  Linguistic differences and mother tongue interference.

The Cause of Chinglish The Cause:  Different thinking patterns and culture  Outdated Chinese-English dictionaries and textbook-style English  Mediocre English-language teaching and lack of English-language environment

The Features of Chinglish  Cultural meanings:  The English idiom "work like a horse" means "work hard", but in China horses are rarely used as draft animals and the equivalent Chinese expression uses niú 牛 "Cattle".  Problems of direct translation:  Some Chinglish menus translate dòufu 豆腐 as "bean curd", which "sounds very unappetizing" to English speakers, instead of "tofu".  Wordiness. Unnecessary words and convoluted sentences are hallmarks of Chinglish translation. For example, the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced, "CAAC has decided to start the business of advance booking and ticketing", which could simply say "CAAC now accepts advance booking and ticketing."  Wrong word order. A host in Shenyang toasted a group of foreign investors with "Up your bottoms!" instead of "Bottoms up!"[44]

The Features of Chinglish  Wordiness:  Unnecessary words and convoluted sentences are hallmarks of Chinglish translation. For example, the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced, "CAAC has decided to start the business of advance booking and ticketing", which could simply say "CAAC now accepts advance booking and ticketing.”

The Features of Chinglish  Wrong word order:  A host in Shenyang toasted a group of foreign investors with "Up your bottoms!" instead of "Bottoms up!”

Examples

Conclusion  The phenomenon of World Englishes  World Englishes:  World Englishes is a term for emerging localized varieties of English.  According to Kachru’s three circles of English, English is the language that are used by more L2 speakers than by native speakers.  As long as the use of the varieties of English doesn’t affect communication, different varieties of English should also be learned by some learners.