http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6052800.stm
It was a funny read. And as I checked out 'Chinglish' from wikipedia, this is what it is defined as:
"Chinglish, a portmanteau of the words Chinese and English, is an English pseudo-dialect heavily affected by Chinese grammar and accent.
The term "Chinglish", though generally implying poor translation, can also refer specifically to an English-Chinese creole language. This is particularly true in areas that have both English and Chinese as official languages, such as Singapore and Hong Kong. (When specifically discussing the English dialect of Singapore, Singlish may be more appropriate.)"
I find it amusing that China was not mentioned, since if Singapore's english is Singlish... then surely one will know where Chinglish originate from? HongKong's english... would typically be Honklish? I don't know man.
I still find Singapore's english acceptable. Other than the occasionally La, Lor, Leh (which are generally just verbal exclaimation marks), and a rojak of malay, indian and chinese, chinese dialects... our grammar is still considered proper liao lor. Oh, i forgot... There's also a IS craze now. I is everything, you is everything and so on. That's sala (Malay word for wrong) grammar.
I've been tutoring my tuition kids for 4 years now and it's particularly annoying when they don't get their grammar correct. Nevermind that their vocab is not strong, there are still simpler words to use for description. But grammar is really the foundation of proper english... loaded with all the nouns, pronouns, tenses, preposition, etc. So imagine how annoyed i feel when i proof read my colleague's reports.... I feel like a tutor all the time.
Oh well, everybody learns something new everyday, and that does not make those who make mistakes stupid. Most important lesson is to LEARN and don't make the same mistakes again.
We'll see if the ang mohs will find it any easier if one day, they, too, will have to learn to speak Mandarin.
See flikr site for pictorial evidence of Chinglish. These are just for laughs.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/chinglish/
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