I resemble that remark!
Posted on 04/13/2007 8:55:07 AM PDT by kevin_in_so_cal
English language experts say that, with the 2008 Olympics less than 500 days away, there is still a long way to go before standard English translations of the names of dishes and drinks sold in Beijing restaurants can be finalized.
Garbled and misleading English signs in tourist spots have long confused English speakers in Beijing. Problems range from obscure abbreviations, word-for-word translations of Chinese characters into English, improper omissions and misspellings.
But what confuses them even more are English menus in Beijing restaurants.
However, not everyone agrees with the need to standardize everything. "Weird and wonderful English on Beijing menus -- like "pee soup", "complicated cakes" and "grass with fishy smell" -- are part of the city's charm," said Theo Theodopolopodis, a Greek businessman who has been living in Beijing for two years. "If we sanitize everything, what happens to local flavor?"
Liu Yang, vice director of the Beijing foreign affairs office, told reporters Wednesday that his office has invited English language experts from the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore to join the English menu translation work team.
"They are finding the work challenging," said Liu, adding that Beijing has already publicized standard English signs for museums, scenic spots and subways.
Liu said that Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Programme has been using the internet to identify the most accurate English names for Chinese dishes, and is working on a list of more than 1,000 dish and drink names.
Beijing claims to have 4.87 million residents who can speak English, accounting for 32 percent of the total population in the municipality.
Statistics indicate that around 2.85 million foreign tourists came to Beijing last year and the number is expected to top three million this year.
Baby Eels in Cream of Sum Yung Man.
Leave out the brown hissing sauce.
Yew knead two rain inn yore enthused abut these subject. Its to conversational of a tropic for discretion.
Is it just me, or are there more and more spelling and grammar errors in published material lately? If I see one more real estate listing that has "seperate" in it, for example....
Yes, people simply will not TOE the line!
I have got to work on that typing speed!
Absolutely correct.
It is indeed, 'pore.'
Another one that gets butchered is 'faze.'
Cite/site/sight
And people who write “should of” or “could of.”
All these years I though it was amok!! Dang. Can't worry about it now, I have to go mok out the stalls. . . .
One of my pet peeves is “soft-pedaled,” as if it had something to do with a bicycle. A number of spell-checkers even miss that one.
“And people who write “should of” or “could of.””
When we all know the correct usage is “shoulda” and “coulda”, as in “shoulda, woulda, coulda”. :)
Good catch! I didn’t think of that one.
Why do you think it's about flowers?
I notice them all the time.
When I was in high school, I used to help my mom proofread papers (she was a teacher then).
To this day, grammatical and spelling errors just seem to leap off the page at me.
“Loose” versus “lose” drives me crazy.
Also, “insure” versus “ensure”. Those two have gotten so bad that even the dictionaries have given up trying to explain the difference to people.
Actually, the origin has to do with selling or “peddling.”
When you want to ease your opponent into your point of view or avoid a confrontation over it, you soft-peddle it.
I can’t say your explanation is wrong, but the above is the way I learned it.
Isn’t idiom fun?
I caught that two.
More fun than a barrel full of monkeys.
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