Put you on the table.
Laugh die me.
Blow water.
What the water are you?
So you're clueless what I'm talking about? Welcome to the world of Chinglish! Or, to be more specific, the world of Hongklish!
I was reading this group on Facebook about Chinglish and couldn't help thinking once again the amazing influence of Hong Kong culture in the world. The phrase "long time no see" has obtained legitimate status in the English languge already. I wonder what would be the next.
Speaking of Chinglish, I think there is, though, a big difference between the Chinglish in HK and the Chinglish in mainland China. The former is more about fun, but the latter is mostly because of inadequacy. I mean, I can't help but laugh at all the nonsense Chinglish signs I see in mainland China, but, at the same time, I feel really bad about it.
It's a shame. Is it really that difficult to find someone to translate the public signage into English? I don't think so. I'm sure there're lots of capable people in China to do that. So why is this happening? If the government could care less whether the translation of public information is accurate or not, why bother translating. Might as well keep everything in Chinese only.
This reminds me of a Chinese idiom: "drawing snakes and complement them with feet".
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