The Value of Chinglish — or Direct Translation
Most of us have stumbled across the hilarity of Chinglish signs while falling down rabbit holes online. Like many mistakes when communicating in a foreign language, although this particular spring of humor may be caused by a typo (bread becomes beard), it is more likely due to interference from the mother tongue; as such, asides from offering mere chuckle value, Chinglish or directly translated Chinese, whether in signs or elsewhere, can offer even a non-Chinese speaker insight into Chinese logic and culture or to put it more simply: another angle to view things.
For those learning the Mandarin language, that other angle adds a colorful effect to the language and learning process, which can help the learner memorize vocabulary much more effectively.
To illustrate, asking a native speaker how to say a word in Chinese usually results in an abstract sound for the student to vocalize. Having spent years learning like this, take it from me, this is hard boring and probably the least effective way to learn a new language. A pretty useless but common conversation I might have initiated thousands of times goes like this:
Me: How do you say eraser in Chinese?
Friend: Xiàng pí cā (橡皮搽).
Me: Oh, thanks!
In contrast, since Chinese vocabulary is mostly compounded (combining different characters to form meaning) learning the meaning of each character (each sound) adds much more meaning and connection, not only to language but also to mindset and culture.
Thus, “eraser” becomes Xiàng=tree pí=skin cā wipe: tree skin wipe! There’s a term: tree skin wipe. “Pass me the tree skin wipe!” Another basic word the learner soon encounters is “computer,” which as “電腦” directly translates as “electric brain.”
Probably the coolest Chinese term I know is “魚雷” (fish thunder) Just a slight tweak of imagination is required to see what English speakers refer to as “torpedo!” And from here perhaps “land thunder” needs less explaining.
And then I realized that ancient Chinese did not see a way of milk while staring at the Milky Way. Rather, for them it was perceived as a silver river.
Meanwhile, a hippo becomes a river horse, a kangaroo become a bag rat. Piecing a new language together likes this creates memorization hooks for the learner to recall the word and keeps the learner engaged rather than grey heart (discouraged).
Sometimes the Chinese word has been formed by adopting a character with a similar sound as the foreign word. This can also make for some interesting translations. France, thus, is Fàguó meaning Law Kingdom, while Eng-land morphs to Yīngguó or Hero Kingdom. This works both ways of course and that’s why many English speakers enjoy “ping-pong.”
Other times the term offers a glimpse into times before or future hopes. In that light, even Hong Kong can once again be viewed as fragrant harbour and Songjiang Road in Taipei can be viewed as Pine River Road, where a remnant of an old canal still struggles to flow somewhere underneath the surface of these eight lanes of traffic and the subway lines.
And then there is the irony of living in Eternal Peace or YongHe, which is located just across the river from Taipei and is one of the most densely populated places on the planet, and probably one of the noisiest.
By making sure you learn the meaning of each character of the compounded term you will soon realize why some claim that learners only need to learn about 1000 characters to read 90% of Chinese. （加油）Add oil!
