Engrish
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Engrish is a slang term for the inaccurate, poorly translated, nonsensical or ungrammatical use of the
The term Engrish first appears in the 1940s (suggestive of a mispronunciation of English) but it was not until the 1980s that it began to be used as a byname for defective
Japanese Engrish / Japanglish
Japanese and English have significantly different grammar:
Further, English is frequently used in Japan (and elsewhere) for aesthetic rather than functional purposes;[5] i.e., for Japanese consumption, not for English speakers per se, as a way of appearing "smart, sophisticated and modern", in much the same way as Japanese and similar writing scripts are used in Western fashion.[6] Such decorative English is not meant to be read and understood by native English speakers, so emphasis is not placed on coherence or accuracy.[7]
The Japanese language also makes extensive use of loanwords, especially from English in recent decades, and these words are transliterated into a Japanese form of pronunciation using the katakana syllabary. Japanese speakers may thus only be familiar with the Japanese pronunciation or Japanese meaning, rather than its original pronunciation or meaning. This is particularly the case when the source English word contains sounds or sound clusters which have no equivalent in katakana. For example, Casiopea jazz fusion band (est. 1976) has its name based on "Cassiopeia": neither the double s nor the three-vowel -eia would fit the katakana format. More recent example: Sega's Mega Drive is spelled in katakana メガドライブ, hence pronounced as Mega Doraibu; the console was renamed for the market of United States of America as Sega Genesis.
In popular culture
Engrish has been featured occasionally in
Monty Python's Flying Circus featured a parody of the drama series Elizabeth R, where they portrayed the cast riding motor-scooters and speaking Engrish, thus changing the title to "Erizabeth L".[9]
In the 1983 film A Christmas Story, the Parker family goes to a Chinese restaurant for their Christmas dinner, and are serenaded by the waitstaff with Engrish Christmas carols, such as "Deck the harrs wis boughs of horry, fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra" and "Jingre berrs, jingre berrs, jingre arr the way, oh what fun it is to ride in one-horse open sreigh!"
The British fashion brand
Gallery
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Engrish on aBahamas
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A poorly-translated sign warns visitors of stray dogs at the beach inKenting National Park, Taiwan
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Engrish behind a bar in Thailand
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A sign in a shop in Thailand possibly asking for people to not try on the clothes without buying them
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Engrish on a sign in a winery near Iwamizawa, Japan
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Numerous examples on a menu from a restaurant in Sapporo, Japan
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Guest information in a hotel in Naka-Furano, Japan
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Examples on a product on sale at a Daiso in Japan
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Engrish on a sign outside a ramen restaurant in Sapporo. Note the proper grammar, yet somewhat odd phrasing.
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A bad translation on a product on sale in Japan
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A typically nonsensical translation from Japanese to English on a t-shirt on sale in Japan
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A nonsensical translation on a foot pressure scanner in a shoe store in Japan
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Misspelling of octopus on a food stall sign in Thailand
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A mistranslated sign in a cafeteria in Thailand
See also
- "Mega Drive version from Zero Wing
- Broken English
- Chinglish
- English as She Is Spoke
- "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!", another internet meme of similar background (from the 1986 video game The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)).
- Japanese Pidgin English
- List of lishes
- Non-native pronunciations of English
- Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers
- Portrayal of East Asians in American film and theater
- Wasei-eigo
- List of wasei-eigo
References
- ^ Ziemba, Christine N. (December 5, 2004). "Translate at your own risk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ^ .
- S2CID 145471291. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
- ^ Kowner, Rotem (2003). "Japanese Miscommunication with Foreigners: In Search for Valid Accounts and Effective Remedies" (PDF). Jahrbuch des Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien. 15: 117–151. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-01.
- ^ Ikeshima, Jayne Hildebrand (July 2005). "Some perspectives on the phenomenon of "Engrish"" (PDF). Keio Journal of International Studies. 15: 185–198. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-07-22.
- S2CID 145079203.
- ^ Melin, Tracy; Rey, Nina (2005). "Emphasizing Foreign Language Use to International Marketing Students: A Situational Exercise That Mimics Real-World Challenges". Global Business Languages. 10: 13–25.
there is often no attempt to try to get it right, nor do the vast majority of the Japanese population ever attempt to read the English design element in question. There is therefore less emphasis on spelling and grammatical accuracy.
- ^ Stuever, Hank (October 15, 2004). "Puppet Government 'South Park' Creators' Left Jab at Jingoism May Backfire". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
The North Korean dictator speaks in the voice of 'South Park's' Eric Cartman, ... only with an Engrish accent. 'I'm so ronery,' Kim confesses in a pitiful ballad to himself, which explains his evil-doing—he just needs to be ruvved.
- ^ Monty Python's Flying Circus, Series 3 Episode 3 of 13, Features The Money Programme, Erizabeth L, Dead Bishop, Jungle Restaurant and The Argument Skit, 2 November 1972
- ^ "Superdry". Unmissable Japan. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ "Superdry: Popular UK Fashion Brand Uses Gibberish Japanese". Japan Probe. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
External links
- Engrish.com Examples of Engrish from Japan, China and elsewhere
- fahruz.org (2003–2007) Collection of Engrish and equivalents in French, German and Italian (archived on Wayback Machine March 3, 2016)
- Large Engrish photo collection on Weird Asia News
- EngrishCheck Instagram Photos of Engrish from Japan
- Translation Party Online tool demonstrating how phrases are lost in translation between English and Japanese