I can't push my bike across a sentence!

This road sign made me laugh. How do I push my bicycle across a safety reminder? A safety reminder is a sentence telling me to do something so that I will not be in danger. I cannot push my bicycle across a sentence!

May I suggest that the sign be reworded as:
SAFETY REMINDER:
PLEASE PUSH
BICYCLE ACROSS
Same words, different order with one added punctuation. Clear as can be.

Have fun cycling!

Fun Language Tools

You like watery eggs?

Toast, eggs and coffee or tea is quite standard breakfast food pretty much anywhere in the world. In Western countries, you may even choose how you would like your eggs cooked: sunny side up ("fried" in some places), scrambled ("crumbled" at a restaurant in Cambodia), omelette, poached. I have not heard of anyone eating hard boiled eggs for breakfast - yet!

In Singapore and Malaysia, two soft-boiled eggs for breakfast is traditional. For a while, there was a health trend going round in America, saying that soft-boiled eggs were the healthiest thing to eat for breakfast. I thought that most unusual because I have never heard of anyone eating soft-boiled eggs in the west. I am quite sure that trend has passed, as do all trends for that matter.

When I saw this sign (picture above) advertising a breakfast set of "two watery eggs", toast and coffee or tea, I had to laugh. If I did not know what soft-boiled eggs looked like, I would not be inclined to try eating "watery eggs". Just the phrase makes me think of uncooked eggs, which are watery. For that matter, it takes skill to make good soft-boiled eggs.* Not cooked long enough, the eggs are very watery and not fit for consumption.

The picture of the breakfast set shows a plate of yellow liquid with some black streaks in it. To the uninformed, that is how you eat soft-boiled eggs the Singaporean and Malaysian way. First, you knock open the eggs onto a saucer. Add some white pepper and soya sauce (the black streaks). Use a teaspoon to break open the yolks and stir the mixture around. Drink up the liquid straight from the saucer (direct to your mouth) or use the toast to mop up the egg and eat.

I was pleasantly surprised to know that my Latin American friend eats her sunny side up eggs with toast! I have had breakfast with her several times when she would use the fork to break open the yolk carefully, then dip the toast into the runny yolk to eat. Before eating, she would always apologise to the others at the table, saying that she was taught to eat that way from young. (I suppose some cultures may be offended by this.) I never thought that a culture so different from mine would share such a similarity!

Regardless of how you like your eggs, my point is that the description of the breakfast set does not make me go, "Yum! I want that for breakfast!" The stall holder should have checked with English-speaking people before putting up the sign for "watery eggs". Good copywriting does make a difference in sales.

Have fun learning English and how to eat eggs!

Fun Language Tools

*Recipe for soft-boiled eggs:
Place two uncooked eggs in a large mug.
Pour in enough boiling water to cover the eggs nicely.
Wait exactly 13 minutes.
Remove eggs from the mug, break them into a saucer, add some pepper and soya sauce, and enjoy!

Life and death in a name?

Today's post is not morbid by any means. I was inspired to write because of what I saw on the side of a van.

There was a funeral taking place near my home. On the side of the van was painted the name of the company: XXX Casket Company, XXX 寿板. I walked by thinking the Chinese name to be a bit puzzling.

In Chinese, "casket" is 棺材. Using the literal word "casket" in a company name may be considered crude or rude, since it refers to death, which often is a taboo subject in Chinese society. Chinese often will use a pseudonym instead, to soften the tone, yet make it sound acceptable to the grieving family. In this case, the company chose 寿板.

寿 (shou4) means life. It is often used to wish an elderly person on his birthday, wishing him a long life e.g. 寿比南山 or "May you live longer than the southern hills".
板 (ban3) means a wooden board. In this case, it refers to the wooden coffin.

What made me puzzled was the pairing of the two words meaning "life" and "coffin", signaling death. Seems like an oxymoron to me!

I got onto Google Translate and laughed even more! Google Translate gave this: 寿板 = "life board". Huh? What's that supposed to mean? I have never really trusted Google Translate to begin with. This just confirms my suspicions. Do not trust electronic translation systems. Trust the human being instead.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to learn a new language. That way, you will not have to rely on a tool or another person to translate and explain the meaning.

Start learning a new language today!

Fun Language Tools

Please say "thank you"

'Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom'- Marcel Proust

Is it so hard to say "thank you"?

I used to teach youth aged 16-25 years in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, how to work in an office. One of the lessons is being thankful. When someone does something for you, no matter how small, we should always say "thank you". Small gestures of appreciation create a positive work environment in which to work.

In the Cambodian culture, people are generally too shy to say "thank you" to those closest to them e.g. immediate family members. Since my students had yet to enter the workforce, my examples drew mainly from their home environment, so they could understand what was being taught. I raised this example frequently:

Me: If your mother gave you 100 riel (smallest denomination of currency), would you say "thank you"?
Students: No, of course not!
Me: If your mother gave you USD100, would you say "thank you"?
Students: (Laughter) But, we never say "thank you" to those who are close to us. The relationship is too close.
I will never understand their thinking.

"Thank you" is about as universal as the word "Coke". Everybody understands "thank you" in English regardless of whether you understand English or not. When said with a smile, these two small words warm the heart and send messages of love across cultural barriers.

As American Thanksgiving approaches, let's all build a culture of thankfulness. Two small words "thank you" mean so much.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! To the rest of the world, let's be thankful too!

Fun Language Tools

Is learning English not as important today?

Is English not the universally important language anymore? While many in the non-English-speaking world are frantically trying to learn English, China has decided that English is not as important as other subjects for the university admission test or 高考 as it is more commonly known. Perhaps the focus on English has led to lower grades in other subjects? Highly possible, since the Singapore Education Ministry has deemed this so, only in reverse. In Singapore, the focus on Chinese language can cause so much stress to parents and children that the latter end up scoring poorly in other subjects such as mathematics and science, subjects deemed easier than Chinese.

Granted, not everyone has a knack, talent or flair for languages (whichever word you may prefer). For some, grammar and spelling are enough to drive one crazy. For others, being able to communicate in another language sends them on a high. Whichever type of person you may or may not be, language is essential to life. Even the deaf and hearing-impaired have their own language.

Chinese in China are going everywhere around the world. Although they study English in school, most of them cannot speak a word of English. Understanding spoken English is also close to zero. China expects the world to learn Chinese instead. Much of the world agrees. After all, China is a huge market.

Whatever your view may be, the fact is that both English and Chinese are gaining popularity around the world. If you speak either language, you can easily communicate with someone somewhere in the world. If you speak both languages, even better! You can probably travel anywhere in the world and find someone who can communicate with you.

Learning English and/or Chinese may be tough, but communicating with someone and seeing his face light up just because you speak a language he understands, is most rewarding. Learn a language today!

Fun Language Tools

Test of proficiency for translators in Singapore

How accurate are translations? It varies. Everything depends on the skill of the translator and the editor. Does he know both languages well? How proficient is he in each language? Very seldom is someone equally proficient in both languages unless he has grown up speaking both equally. Even then, one language may be stronger than the other by reason of use.

I know a few friends who grew up speaking Mandarin, went to Chinese-medium schools for basic education, and have had to re-learn Mandarin as an adult. What happened? They went to university using English exclusively, worked in offices that spoke and used only English, and ended up building a family that spoke only English at home. After more than 10 years of hardly speaking or hearing Mandarin spoken, they had to almost start all over again. However, their journey is made easier because they do have the basic foundation buried somewhere in the recesses of their minds.

Just because you speak both languages, it does not mean you can translate. I do a decent job with oral translations, but my written Chinese is pathetic. All my school days I scraped through compositions in Chinese because I wrote in Chinese the way I think in English. It just does not work, nor does it make sense. Then I took Japanese classes in university. As I progressed to higher levels where we had to write essays, my Japanese teacher often did not understand what I was trying to say. Fortunately, she had studied Chinese. She told me many times that she would translate my Japanese sentence into Chinese to make sense of my work.

We have seen many instances of strange and funny translations all over the world. There are even websites dedicated to such pictures. Signs aside, translations can either make or break a deal. A wrong nuance changes the entire meaning of a sentence, and dare I say, the entire document. Accuracy is crucial in translation work.

Is there a way to assess the skills of a translator? Singapore will be instituting a test to check proficiency of translators soon.

Translators in Singapore are excited over this prospect. The test and subsequent certification will lend some credibility to their profession. However, some translation companies are sceptical. Tests can only cover so much ground. Technical language is not included. Translation is just too broad an area to be able to test accurately.

Regardless, some form of testing is better than none at all. "Lost in translation" is not funny. If I took the test, I will at least know where I stand in comparison with others in my field. I rather find out from an objective test than rely on feedback from my audience.

Regardless of where I am in my language learning journey, there is always room for improvement. I am committed to learning languages for the rest of my life. Will you take up the challenge with me and start learning a language today?

Fun Language Tools

With Compliments or Complimentary?

This tag was attached to a bottle of drinking water placed in my hotel room. The tag let guests know that the bottle of water was already included in the room charge, different from the drinks in the refrigerator, which are chargeable.

So what's wrong with the tag? The text. It should read: "With Compliments" or "Complimentary", not "With Complimentary".

"Complimentary" means "given free to repay a favour or as an act of courtesy" (Source: The Free Dictionary by Farlex). In this case, the bottle of water is given free to hotel guests.

The hotel is rated 4-Star, with superb customer service. Yet, one small error on a seemingly insignificant item has dented my image of the hotel, at least enough for me to write this post about it.

Is English confusing? Yes. Hard to learn? Yes. Yet, no reason not to keep trying. You can do it!

Fun Language Tools

I'm a taxi driver who is learning English

Taxi drivers can either make or break your day. We need them to get places quickly, especially in a foreign place. We hope they speak and understand English. We hope they know where the place I need to go is, and how to get there in the shortest possible time. In some places, we hope they can read maps!

Taxi drivers in Singapore whose standard of English is not acceptable have to undergo English lessons. Many of them are older men who have been driving taxis for at least 20 years. The younger ones are usually retrenched white-collar workers who were unable to find jobs similar to their previous one or decided to change career in mid-life. The older drivers had chosen to make taxi-driving a lifelong career, at a time when tourists were far fewer.

Learning any language at an older age can be daunting, especially for someone who does not have high levels of education. English is no different. For many, English pronunciation is difficult. Either the listener does not understand what we are saying, or they laugh at us in the face. Taxi drivers were initially fearful of going to class. They had obviously tried for years to learn some simple English phrases but never seemed to remember them, or just tried to avoid lessons altogether. Running away does not solve the problem.

Enter the government with heavily subsidised fees for basic conversational English classes tailored specially for taxi drivers in Singapore. At the end of the class, all the drivers were so pleased with themselves. They can now express themselves fairly confidently, especially with non-Singaporeans. Overall, the programme has been a great success. Not only have taxi drivers learned something, service standards of taxi drivers has gone up. Tourists no longer need to be afraid of rogue taxi drivers taking them for a ride just to rack up the meter.

Are you afraid of learning a new language? It does take courage to open your mouth in a new language, especially when just starting out to learn. Once you get the hang of it, it will get to be lots of fun! A little bit of effort will go a long way to making new friends and learning about a new culture.

Enrich your life today! Learn a new language!

Fun Language Tools

Halloween or Hellowin?

Halloween. People around the world are caught up with horror, scaring one another, dressing up in Gothic-style costumes, children dress up in whatever their parents' think is cute and go house to house saying, "Trick or treat". I do not like Halloween. I have many friends who do not either. What should we do in response?

My Taiwanese friends came up with a great idea for their version of Halloween. They called it "Hellowin". What a great twist of the word! So creative!

They decided that since many of their friends were out doing strange things on Halloween night, why not have a party of their own? A Christian response to Halloween, calling it Hellowin.

I do not know all the details, but I can guess the rationale behind it. You see, a few of them had spent two weeks of August in Singapore. During that time, they learned how to conduct the 1MPFJ (One More Person for Jesus) campaign, to introduce their friends to Jesus. They went home very excited, wanting to implement the programme as soon as they stepped off the plane in Taiwan.

Hellowin is probably a combination of two words: "hello" and "win". "Hello. My name is ..." First I make friends with a stranger or get to know someone even better. "Win" is to "win one more person for Jesus". Put the two words together and you get Hellowin. Add some food and you get a party to make new friends, get to know your old friends better, and introduce them to your best Friend, Jesus! What a great idea!

My Taiwanese friends do not know much English. Who says they cannot get creative with the English language? Besides, a name like that will attract many of their friends of the same age group who are also learning English. What better way than to have a party?

Some of the most creative ways of using the English language have come from learners of English. They don't always get it right, but some things they say are just so "right". The message would not be as punchy if the grammar and sentence structure were correct. Let's appreciate one another's unique way of using English!

Have fun learning about another culture!

Fun Language Tools