Current topic of discussion is whether it's appropriate to laugh at Chinglish.
The general argument for why we shouldn't laugh at it is that it's arrogant and colonialist to mock people for not mastering our language. And I can see where that's coming from.
However, I might be misfiring on this, but my first thought is that it's kind of arrogant and colonialist to give them a bye. As translators we demand perfection of ourselves and fully expect to be laughed at (or reprimanded or publicly humiliated or never work again) if we mess up seriously. It seems kind of patronizing or condescending to go "Awww, but we shouldn't laugh at them, they're just poor little China! They don't know any better!" They're a proper grown-up country, they're a world power, it seems only basic human respect to treat them like they're capable of competent work.
I'm not saying we should laugh at individuals' accents or misspeaking or fumbling for words in their second (third? fourth?) language. And I'm not suggesting we paint an entire country/culture with a broad brush based on a few mistranslations. But I do think when you see a giant pink sign announcing Very Suspicious Supermarket, go ahead and laugh. When it's a giant public sign, that's like laughing at a grown adult who spoonerizes their way to something Freudian. I'm not talking huge public judgement, I'm just saying we should feel free to enjoy the humour.
Whenever you create something static and permanent for public consumption, you open yourself up to being laughed at if it goes hysterically wrong or shows your fallability. I think treating China (or any other country) with kid gloves in this respect on the unspoken basis that they're non-Western is condescending, and arrogant in its own way.
3 comments:
I agree. Thanks for the permish.
I laugh, not at the lack of proficiency with language, but at the odd attitude that people think they don't need proofreaders. I don't know about China, but this problem is widespread in Japan, where my sister went to do the "teach English" thing and ended up with a job as a copy editor instead. There is a problem with translation ("please replace battery cover quietly") but possibly an even bigger problem with product naming.
And I challenge anyone not to laugh at the best examples. This is the country where the number one soft drink is "Sweat".
My first thought was it's that overconfidence that people get right at the point where they've taken all their high school French, they know all the verb tenses and all the grammar, but they haven't had to use it outside the classroom yet. You feel like you know all the French in the world, then you go to Quebec and discover that you really know nothing.
But not all of these could be explained by this. "Replace battery cover quietly", simple overconfidence. "Translate server error", bigger problem.
Post a Comment