Emily and Joshua of peer-see blog found the reason why Engrish is so prevalent in China: the poor Chinese kids never had a chance to begin with! Just look at these ABC picture blocks they used to teach English.
Link (The last one is precious!) – Thanks Leah McPherson!
Nicholas Dollak
So “epidiascope” is the technical term for an overhead projector. Heh, heh… Next time one of my students complains that I used another “big” word he or she doesn’t know (Hey, we’re here to learn, kid), I can reply, “Too erudite for you? Nonsense! Now, to return to this epediascope projection…” New Word of the Day!
As for the “dick”/”egg” connection… In some cultures, testicles are called “eggs.” It’s possible that the dictionary the blocks’ creator consulted gave a variety of English synonyms (or near-synonyms)for “egg” without going into sufficient detail.
DCer
Insane.
I manage a team of people from South Asia and in frustration yesterday one of the guys called me “Boss Uncle.” It is very odd to hear them speak English almost perfectly with almost no accent, but use completely wrong words.
And yes, I said wrong. You never call your supervisor Boss Uncle.
KiM
and I thought “panzer” is a German word? As in “Panzer” for an armored vehicle or a tank? Or as in shell, casing, etc.?!
Nicholas Dollak
Re: #2 (DCer) – Apparently, the Chinese words for “aunt” and “uncle” are frequently used as a respectful address for someone you work under. I have become “Uncle” to quite a few Chinese students over the years, and my Mom became “Auntie” to several Chinese students as well. Most of them drop it after a while, when they notice that nobody else calls you “Uncle;” but I think it’s kind of neat when it lasts!
Re: #3 (KiM) – “Panzer” is indeed a German word, meaning “panther.” It was applied to either a type of tank or to tank units in general during WWII (an historian of the period would know better than I would of the specifics). I doubt that it became a general term for “tank,” though. Yeah… kinda weird to see it used on blocks meant to teach English. However, a visit to a hobby-shop will turn up a number of plastic model kits manufactured in China and Japan, and of the military kits, German Panzer units are quite popular. (I guess German tank designs were visually more pleasing than others; thus the model kits are more popular than others.) It may be easy for one to make the assumption that “panzer” might be English for “tank,” based on this, if identically-labeled kits are sold in China.
Angela
At least its not like they’re illiterate in their own language… unlike certain people in Texas. “I have a Draem.”
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Tom
