Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT







Like thousands of other international tourists to Beijing, my foreign guests have not only carried back fond memories of the awesome Great Wall of China but also pictures of some funny English mistranslations.



I always felt uncomfortable when they mocked and snapped incorrect English signposts to show it to folks back home.



The Beijing authority's crackdown on these linguistic misfires is a welcome move that was long overdue.



They are even soliciting public assistance in correcting such signposts by organizing an online contest.



Participants can submit pictures of incorrect English translations and provide corrections.



I am sure that since it's a competition, there will be prizes.



In 2017, a new policy was introduced, providing guidelines for English translations in about a dozen areas like health, education, transport and financial services.



When I first came to Beijing, it was the 2008 Olympic Games that was transforming the city.



English signboards began to appear on the streets.



There were some mistakes that could be overlooked by a foreigner.



Over the years, bilingual signboards and posters have mushroomed, but nobody bothered to check if the English translations were accurate or not.



The locals never cared to read them; the foreigners just smiled and ignored them.



While the Chinese authorities have tried their best to weed out "fake" goods that tarnished the country's image, it faces yet another challenge - to correct its Chinglish translations.



It is ironic that China has placed a lot of emphasis on learning English as a foreign language, but it never anticipated that a mad rush to display English translations meant to woo foreign tourists would be counterproductive.



English is a funny language. For example, when we transport something by car, it's called a shipment, but when we transport something by ship, it's called cargo.



Or for that matter, why are people who ride motorcycles called bikers and people who ride bikes called cyclists?



In such a situation, it may be unfair to blame Google translate or Baidu.



I worked for a big Chinese company where the sign outside a break room said "restroom," which is the term used for a bathroom in many Western countries.



Once I saw a young Chinese girl wearing a shirt without realizing that something obscene was written across her chest.



Hopefully, highly offensive signs like "deformed men's toilet" will be corrected just as the "racist park" sign near the Olympic Stadium is now, thankfully, officially called the "Chinese Ethnic Culture Park."



There is also a need to review the menus of restaurants and correct their literal Chinglish translations that are not appetizing at all to foreign tourists.



Who would like to eat "husband and wife lung slices" or "grandma's hand bamboo shoots?"



It's time to move forward from ignoring or laughing at these incorrect translations to taking corrective action in order to present a sophisticated image to the international world.



The Beijing authorities are doing their utmost best to encourage all concerned agencies and the public to correct this embarrassing aberration in view of China's going global and aiming to successfully organize more international events, including the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in 2022.



However, it is also the duty of the international community in Beijing to help the authorities in this campaign.



This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.



