Forbids tutu enter the mosque
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Carley De Rosa sent in the following photograph taken at the Niujie (Ox Street) Mosque (Niújiē lǐbàisì; simplified 牛街礼拜寺, traditional 牛街禮拜寺) in Beijing:
Chinese on sign:
Jìnzhǐ chuān duǎnkù duǎnqún huò yīguān bùshì zhě jìn sì.
禁止穿短裤短裙或衣冠不适者进寺。
Chinglish on sign:
Forbids to put on the short tutu or clothes illness enter the mosque
Correct English:
It is forbidden to enter the mosque wearing shorts, a short skirt, or other improper clothing.
Since I have just spent the New Year's holiday with my three-year-old granddaughter in Dallas, who loves to wear a gauzy, short skirt — whether at her dance class or at home — I am quite familiar with what a "short tutu" is, but I still have to work at grasping the connotations of "clothes illness" before I am satisfied that I understand all the nuances of this charming sign.
Geoff Wade said,
January 13, 2013 @ 6:43 pm
身体不适 = illness
衣冠不适 = clothing illness (logically enough)
Daniel Tse said,
January 13, 2013 @ 8:19 pm
I found the way that many public signs in mainland China condense the typeface visually unappealing and rather hard to read.
S. Tsow said,
January 13, 2013 @ 10:06 pm
Given the wording of the "Subject" box, I thought this was about Archbishop Desmond Tutu being forbidden to enter a mosque. Here in Thailand, "clothes illness" is usually rendered in English as "impolite clothes."
Victor Mair said,
January 14, 2013 @ 6:41 am
I think you've nailed it, Geoff.
I agree with Daniel Tse. These characters are scrunched together sideways and too elongated top to bottom, making them look rectangular instead of square, as characters should be (fāngkuàizì 方块字).
@S. Tsow:
The picture you present of Bishop Desmond Tutu attempting to enter the Ox Street Mosque wearing impolite clothing is truly fascinating.
mollymooly said,
January 14, 2013 @ 1:02 pm
My clothes get ill when my wardrobe malfunctions.
Ted said,
January 14, 2013 @ 1:10 pm
Wow. I would not have parsed the Chinglish "clothes illness" as a single lexical item. I would have understood this to mean that you cannot enter the mosque if either (a) you have put on a short tutu or [other short] clothes, or (b) you are ill.
Gianni said,
January 14, 2013 @ 8:34 pm
Your post reminds me of this pic:
http://photo.weibo.com/2094013363/talbum/detail/photo_id/3532555736924857?from=profile&profilephoto=&wvr=5
X.Jiao said,
January 16, 2013 @ 9:12 pm
I think it's quite awkward to condense 不合适 into 不适 in the first place.