Cold Stone Ice Cream in China
I thought that Clever Ice Cream Names at Cold Stone Creamery was worth a link, if you’re interested in translation and Chinese language.
Apparently a cold stone opened in Shanghai and translated the English menu in some clever and amusing ways. I think I like 草莓美莓 the best.
Malaysian English Impossible To Understand
I was checking out the new site Overheard in Malaysia when I realized that I don’t understand it all, although it appears to be written in English. Check out this random post about … well, I’m not sure:
MrBf: Blah blah blah.. why you damn clown? Don’t know how to look where you’re going ah? *lecture lecture*
naeboo: *gives hard look*
MrBf: Why you give me one kind look? Not happy isit?? What look is it ar?
naeboo:YATT LOOK! One look! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.. *layan sendiri* I’m sucha smartass!
MrBf: -_______________-”
The Flesch-Kincaid grade level of this text is 4. The first thing currently on Overheardinnewyork scores a (still low) 7. Apparently there is a class-split around the use of English in the Malaysian educational system.
“Fuck Bush” Chinese T-Shirt
This is old, but I love this Fuck Bush t-shirt that Peking Duck points out:
It literally says “去你马的,Bush” which literally means “Go to your mother’s [implied], Bush.” It’s equivalent to the english “motherfucker” literally, which in this context I find quite charming! How better to voice your opposition of the Western influence in China!
Japanese Emoticon List
Here’s a pretty cool list of the top 30 or so Japanese Emoticons. Asian emoticons generally seem to come in the following form:
emoticon ::= ear (eye mouth/nose eye) ear
The trick is that you have to visualize a face laid out horizontally instead of vertically, after which the Asian-style emoticon directly resembles a human face:
- (^_^)
- (>_< )>
- (^_^;)
- (ToT)
- m(_ _)m
- (^^;)
- （￣ー￣）
- (≧∇≦)
- （￣□￣；）
- (#^.^#)
I like the last one best (#^.^#) Some other lists of emoticons can be found below:
Leave a comment with your favorite chat smiley!
Xinhua’s Editorial Guidelines
The kind folks at Work Unit have published a list of guidelines used by the editors and writers at Xinhua, China’s official newspaper. Surprisingly, most of the advice is to avoid racial stereotyping of the sort seen in America’s early days. Except, in our case where it was mostly black v.s. white, writers in China have to be aware of a huge number of ethnic minorities and their sensitivities.
Unfortunately, there are a number of politically sensitive editorial demands:
- Don’t use “Islamic fundamentalism” or “Islamic fundamentalists.” Use “religious extremism” as a substitute.
- It is strictly forbidden to refer to Xinjiang as “East Turkistan.”
- The Diaoyutai Islands must not be called the Senkaku Islands.
- The Nansha Islands must not be called the Spratly Islands.
- Do not write “Tourists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan visit China.” The proper use is “Tourists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan visit the mainland.”
As you can see, most of these come from the desire to strengthen China’s claims on territory it contests with other nations, or territories which have their own seditious desires. Taiwan, HK, and Macau are given special attention; they must always be included as parts of China, not separate nations.
There are also a few completely strange guidelines, like “In all reports concerning persons who believe in Islam, pork must not be mentioned.” That’s about the same as saying, “In all reports concerning persons who like to wear socks, bare feet must not be mentioned.” Still, Xinhua gets a nod for their tact, even if it is overly sensitive.