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双语ZT路透社:中式英文将在奥运大行其道

(2008-08-06 12:33:54)
标签:

中式英语

文化

分类: 奇文共赏

双语ZT路透社:中式英文将在奥运大行其道路透社8月2日发出Paul Majendie撰写的题为"Chinglish" thriving at Games, linguists say的报道(英语原文附后)——美国语言学家说,中国式英文在北京奥运会期间将会大行其道,这无可厚非。

 

随着全球目光聚焦北京,中国在努力扫除菜单上和道路指示牌上的不规范和可笑的英文,他们担心这些从中文转译过来的蹩脚英文可能会冒犯外国人。但是总部设在美国得克萨斯的全球语言研究所说,中式英文大行其道“无可厚非”。这家设在奥斯汀的研究所预测:“奥运会结束后的很长一段时间里面,中式英文都不会消失,甚至会大行其道。”

 

英文作为全球主要语言已被广泛接受,目前有多达2.5亿中国人在学习英文。该研究所盛赞“普通话的复杂性和丰富多彩”,并预测中式英文的前途非常光明,因为“中国人显然很喜欢穿戴印有中式英文的服饰”。

在这座庞大的都市里,色彩俗气、印有让语言学家惨不忍睹的蹩脚英文的T恤衫充斥着各个市场和购物中心。时装设计师斯卡利特•佩奇出售的T恤衫上刻意印着中式英文。

 

政府开通了举报蹩脚英文的公众热线,并已纠正了许多不规范的道路指示牌,例如将“Racist Park”(种族主义园)改为“Ethnic Minorities Park”(民族园)。“北京人讲英语计划”顾问陈琳解释说:“一些翻译让人费解,甚至会冒犯外国游客。”这家美国研究所说,中式英文是“英文和普通话相互得益交流的集中体现”,并列举它喜好的一些中式英文,如“If you are stolen,call the police”(被盗了,就报警),“Airline Pulp”(飞机供餐),以及“The slippery are very crafty”(小心路滑)等等。


"Chinglish" thriving at Games, linguists say
Sat Aug 2, 2008 5:12am BST
By Paul Majendie
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinglish is alive and well at the Beijing Olympics and its survival is no "cryshame," say linguists who have monitored its quirky progress.
With the eyes of the world on Beijing, Chinese authorities have tried to eradicate from menus and road signs many offbeat and nonsensical translations they fear could offend foreigners.
Gone are exploding shrimp and signposts to the Garden with Curled Poo.
But the Texas-based Global Language Monitor (GLM), which analyses word usage trends, said Beijing was fighting a losing battle and should celebrate "this delightful mixture of Chinese and English."
"Chinglish will persist and even thrive far after the Games have ended," the Austin institute forecast.
English is now widely accepted as the main global language and up to 250 million Chinese currently study English, whose vocabulary is now approaching one million words.
As two vibrant tongues collide, the verbal gymnastics of Chinglish should be celebrated, GLM argued.
It hailed "the astonishing complexity and richness of the Mandarin language" and forecast a rosy future for Chinglish because "Chinese people evidently enjoy wearing Chinglish on their clothing."
Garishly colored and linguistically tortured T-shirts abound in the malls and markets of this sprawling city.
Fashion designer Scarlet Page, who sells T-shirts with deliberate Chinglish on them, said "There is no way the government can police the T-shirts."
The Chinese authorities set up a hotline for the public to report strangled language and have corrected hundreds of road signs including the infamous "Racist Park" signpost for the Ethnic Minorities Park.
"Some of the translations are confusing or even offensive to foreign visitors," explained Chen Lin, a consultant with the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Programme.
The U.S institute said Chinglish was at the epicenter of "cross-pollination between English and Mandarin" and picked some of its own personal favorites to celebrate the inter-mingling:
-- If you are stolen, call the police
-- Airline Pulp (food served aboard airlines)
-- The slippery are very crafty (slippery when wet)
-- Do not climb the rocketry (rock wall)
-- Deformed man toilet (handicapped restroom)
(Additional reporting by Gillian Murdoch)
(Editing by Miles Evans)

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