Handsome = Obedient?

My teenage friend from Hong Kong took this photo. I think it so aptly summarises the way Hong Kong people "translate" Cantonese into English. Signs in Hong Kong are all bilingual, thanks to their British colonial past.

The Chinese words 恒顺园 literally mean "constant obedience court". In Mandarin, it is pronounced as "heng shun yuan". In Cantonese (the Chinese dialect spoken in Hong Kong and Guangzhou), it is pronounced "hung soun yuen". "Hung soun" sounds like "Handsome" in English. So, there: 恒顺园 gets translated as "Handsome Court", which is so much more catchy than "Constant Obedience Court"!

Though it may sound funny, I think Hong Kong people are so creative when it comes to translations between Cantonese and English and vice versa.

So, why not exercise a bit of creativity when translating names? Add some fun to life!

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