Language Log

« previous post | next post »

Yet more fun (see parts 1, 2, and 3).

Don't JuYiGe

(source)

bié jū yī gé

别居一阁

"a detached dwelling" — the first character usually functions as a prohibitive (negative imperative), but can also often mean "other", "separate"; the last character means "pavilion", but it is here functioning as a measure word

Slip

xiǎoxīn jiǎo huá

小心脚滑

"careful, slippery"

This is one of the most common public warnings that is prone to awkward translation (see under "Selected readings" for a few Language Log posts on the subject).  In the minimalist tradition of the first item above, when in doubt, don't translate, just transcribe, with or without tones indicated.

For those who are interested, the four morphosyllables of this warning mean "little heart feet / foot slip", "little heart" implying "be careful".

Book bar

shū ba

书吧

"book bar"

(GT gets it right)

This one arises because "ba 吧" can be both a transcription of English "bar" and a Mandarin emphatic final particle used at the end of a sentence to indicate a speculation.

It has been pure pleasure to explain the Chinglishisms in this and the previous three omnibus posts.  Thanks for joining me.

Selected readings

• "Slip carefully" (5/6/14) — this is from 2014; there have been many other posts about how to render notices about "slip(pery)" and "careful", both before and after.
• "Please be careful" (8/25/09)
• "Take Care to Fall Into Water" (1/23/19)
• "Lobby bar, I think" (7/1/22)

August 31, 2022 @ 11:07 pm · Filed by Victor Mair under Grammar, Lost in translation, Semantics, Translation

Permalink