Chinglish is alive and well and its survival is no "cryshame", say linguists who have monitored its quirky progress.
With the eyes of the world on the Beijing Olympics, Chinese authorities have tried to eradicate from menus and road signs many offbeat and nonsensical translations they fear could offend foreigners.
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 said.
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.
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 other examples are:
- 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)
I personally love Chingrish, and believe all efforts should be made to conserve these artforms. If you too love Chingrish, you might love "Engrish" - click here.
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