Latest cleanup of Chinglish long overdue

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Many expats in Shanghai will be pleased about a new campaign to standardize the use of English and other foreign languages to make the city friendlier to foreigners.

This drive is long overdue, though it may be a minor disappointment to lovers of “Chinglish,” the Sinofied version of sometimes comical and often unintelligible English often found at shops, restaurants and other public venues.

The problem of confusing and often mangled English is due to several factors, notably lack of access to native speakers for many venues that aim to provide English menus, literature and other materials for foreign visitors.

Still, it’s important for big cities like Shanghai to gradually clean up these problematic translations, which often have a small-town laughable quality that detracts from the city’s quest for international recognition.

In a somewhat ironic twist, Shanghai seems to have largely excluded foreign participation in the drafting for its new “Rules Governing the Use of Foreign Languages in Public Venues.”

After reading about the effort in Chinese media, I went to the city’s main Chinese-language website and found a place for the public to provide input on the draft rules. But there was no mention of the plan at all on the city’s English website, meaning most foreigners have little or no way to make suggestions on this important new initiative.

In all fairness, I have to say that most English translations in official Shanghai venues are reasonably correct, drawing on the city’s vast resources and easy access to the more than 200,000 expatriates.

But the city’s many shops, restaurants and other privately owned venues lack similar access, with the result that they often end up creating flawed English menus on their own, perhaps with the help of other non-native speakers.

Nearly every foreigner in China has his or her own favorite Chinglish signs, and I’m certainly no exception. A visiting Singaporean friend and I began laughing uncontrollably while at a restaurant whose English menu had comically translated all the dishes literally from their poetic Chinese names. An embarrassed waiter finally came over and took away our menus.

• Are you Chinsumer or antizen?
• Close the book on Chinglish
• Chinglish: To keep or let go?

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