Chinglish signs being rewritten in Shanghai
November 17th, 2010 - 1:37 pm ICT by IANSShanghai, Nov 17 (IANS) “The lift is being fixed. During that time, we regret that you will be unbearable”. This and several other confusing signs in Shanghai are being rewritten during a city-wide campaign.
Expatriates have been asked to lend a helping hand during the campaign when Chinglish signs such as “Be Seated Defecate” that should read “Toilet” would be redone.
Shanghai Daily reported Wednesday that the city has set up a 200-member volunteer team comprising linguistic experts, university students and English speakers to look for poorly worded signs.
Shanghai has already corrected over 10,000 inappropriate signs.
The Shanghai Language Work Committee has published a book telling people to avoid common mistakes such as: “Making seeing trip the terrace” for “Observation Deck,” or “The lift is being fixed. During that time, we regret that you will be unbearable” for “The elevator is being repaired.”
“The city has eliminated most of the ridiculous mistakes,” Zhang Ripei, an official with the language committee, was quoted as saying.
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