Chinglish

Chinglish, a portmanteau of the words Chinese and English, is any poor or 'broken' English spoken by native Chinese speakers. Chinglish is usually found in written form. Famous examples include "no q" as a response to "thank you" (often sinicized in Mandarin Chinese as ?Q - san q) and ok lah. (The second example is both Chinglish and Singlish.)

Related Topics:
Portmanteau - English - Chinese - Mandarin Chinese - Singlish

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It may also be viewed, for English language learners, as their pidgin or contact language; the type of English that they use while learning which falls somewhere between their native Chinese and fluent English. Either way, in English Learning, Chinglish is viewed as undesirable, but the use of the phrase "Chinglish" can be viewed by learners as either an insult or a joke. Some foreign teachers also refer to a school's inadequate language department as the "Chinglish Dept."

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One of the more noticeable cases of Chinglish, especially on mainland China, is the phrase welcome to. This is used as a direct translation in Chinese. It actually means "we invite you to" or "you are welcome to", and is used more as an incentive to the activity introduced; or is used as a form of "thank you". Its use is almost always cordial, inviting, or otherwise positive. A more confusing matter arises with the usage of the phrase welcome again. This is used more at the end of, for example, a bus ride, or a visit to a bookstore, and would be translated as a message of thanks, and that the visitor is welcome back at any time. An equivalent phrase in English-speaking countries might be "Please come again."

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Examples:

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• Welcome to ride Line 52 Bus = Thank you for riding Bus Line 52.
• Welcome to ride Line 13 again = Thank you for riding Line 13, and we would be pleased to welcome you back aboard at any time.
• Welcome to take my taxi = Thanks for taking my taxi.
• Welcome to listen to my news = Thanks for tuning in!
• Welcome to use ATM service = found very often on ATMs, means thanks for using this ATM.
 
Chinglish: Types of Chinglish ►