A short two months after getting my Chinese driver's license, I was about to lose it again. I drove the Jetta into a garage with this insane Chinglish (Chinese-English) sign warning me about crafty slipperies: "TO TAKE NOTICE OF SAFE. THE SLIPPERY ARE VERY CRAFTY." As I remarked, I nearly dented the car (and the sign), having nearly spontaneously combusted in the worst laughing fit ever.
Then I realized -- something had to be done. This Chinglish phenomenon wasn't dying; no, it was on the map and was alive and kicking already since 1992. I hate myself for losing a "comment card" from a restaurant near the Fragrant Hills which had some of the worst Chinglish -- ever -- on it.
Beijing isn't going anywhere with this Chinglish. Although hilarious for the expat community, it's a huge embarrassment for Beijingers -- and especially come 2008. Come to think of it, you may need to learn Chinglish as a second language by the time the Games are here in two years and counting.
But why settle for second-class-citizen-rank Chinglish when proper English is the real answer? As the capital of a nation of 5,000 years behind and a few more millennia (a lot more, actually) to go, Beijing -- and the rest of China -- can settle for something better than Chinglish. What Beijing really needs is decent, proper English. I much prefer "CAREFUL SLIPPERY SLOPE" than this "THE SLIPPERY ARE VERY CRAFTY" stuff. This is my bit in helping Beijing out of its Chinglish mess. It may not be a lot, but it's something, and I hope, a force for the good.
By the way, if you're in Beijing, check out that sign at the Howard Johnson Hotel near the central railway station. Quick -- before they de-Chinglishify it.
David Feng, Beijing, July 2006