Sunday, February 27, 2011

Engrish alive and well

So I have been proofreading my blogs lately and realizing that I make way too many typos.  And the spelling check changes some that are correct.  Dang!  So this got me thinking...  I have seen way too much bastardization of the English language while living here so periodically I am going to blog about what I hear and see.  Some of these things can not be made up. :)
   So another Korean lesson.  I have found out that Ls, Rs, and Ys are interchangeable.  So there is a famous Korean admiral that I learned is Admiral Yi, but he is also referred to as admiral Lee and admiral Rhee.  Gets a bit confusing for the average tourist.  LOL Another interchangeable sound is the p, b, and v.  It makes for interesting conversation.  So now that I have prefaced with this I will share with you the top ten that I have heard about or seen.
10.  Non-Smoking allowed (on the bottom of a non-smoking sign)
9.  Be Smile with how to English (brought to you by a school that teaches English)
8.  Don't go back inside (A sign on a lawn at a museum)
7.  Protect your skin with ultraviolet rays (a slogan on a sunscreen bottle)
6.  Pick up, Cool up, Feel up (slogan on the back of a drink)
5.  Poison Bakery (mistranslation of a Korean Name of a bakery near Pusan.  It is actually on the sign)
4.  Lacquer Poison Chicken broth with Ginseng ( so there is some word in Korean that translates incorrectly a lot.  On a menu at a restaurant)
3.  Mickey is Independent, A positive thinker and Burn Leader ( On a t-shirt)
2.  Sauteed Happy Family (A dish on a menu)
1.  Church of Fruits (On an English School Van)
Now for some others that are funny but didn't make the top ten.
Crap Roll
Steamed Snow Crap
(My personal favorite)  Spaghetti with swimming Crap (Label on a buffet)
Happy Christmas to you and your lovers (a commercial on a Korean station over the holidays!)

So that is the end of that for now but look back in the future for many more mistranslations of the English Language brought to you by South Korea!

2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh!!!!! That is so so funny, Wren! Jay Leno could not have a funnier show tonight than this blog. I am enjoying this mental picture I have of you discovering these signs...I have always gotten a kick out of people misspelling stuff on church or business signs, but this is way better. Love it! Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. #6 - my favorite! Love hearing from you - hope you're well!

    ReplyDelete