The Sound Of Settled Science

Climate Cult 39 Comments
Peer reviewed;

“One of Europe’s most prestigious scientific research institutes has had to issue an apology after discovering that the calligraphy used on the cover of its flagship publication to illustrate a special China edition was in fact an ad for a Hong Kong strip joint.”
(Before and after)

39 Replies to “The Sound Of Settled Science”

  1. The calligraphy, which was vetted by a sinologist before publication, was believed to have “depicted classical Chinese characters in a non-controversial context”.

    Kind of makes you wonder what that text on the box of sweet-and-sour chicken balls from the local take-out really says.

  2. …reminds me of the time I went out with some of the office staff (some where from Hong Kong) for lunch at the Chinese restaurant on 16th and Centre St NW.
    I tried being really ‘cool’ and thanked the waitress for the meal, but I forgot ‘do che’ for thank you and ended up telling her to take a crap per se.
    True story.
    I now go to Kentucky Fried Chicken…

  3. “Kind of makes you wonder what that text on the box of sweet-and-sour chicken balls from the local take-out really say”
    …Ho flung dung?

  7. Edward Teach…
    You funny GI.
    It’s no worse when I’ve pooched a phrase in French and had the “waitress” smile over the mis-pronunciation.

  8. edward teach – then why are you making fun of their English? By the way, since you obviously don’t know, Chinese CAN pronounce ‘r’ and ‘l’.
    The word for ‘two’ is ‘er’. That’s right, pronounded like our letter r. The word for ‘man’ is ‘ren’. Pronounced with an ‘r’. The word for ‘humanity’ is ‘renlei’…and obviously, you have to pronounce the r and l properly.
    So, what’s the point of making fun of how someone else speaks a foreign language? How’s your Chinese? Can you pronounce all the tones?
    And tomax7, ‘thankyou’ is ‘xiexie’.

  10. ET, you know its true.
    They LOVE IT when the Round Eyes order in Chinese and screw it up. The Phantom orders a horse with a side of chicken swear word. Hilarious!
    Chinese people think White people are funny. Indian people too. Just ask them, we’re funny!

  11. What is true, phantom? That we English speakers are ignorant by our continued assertion that Chinese can’t pronounce ‘r’?
    Or that we English speakers, feeling ourselves superior, make fun of people who we feel can’t speak English?
    How’s your Chinese, phantom? Do you pronounce it well, with the four tones clearly differentiated? For that matter, why are you making fun of people who actually take the time and money to learn English?
    I certainly can’t pronounce Dutch, but should the Dutch people make fun of we who speak English and have trouble with Dutch?
    That’s the behaviour of a childish juvenile, not an adult.

  13. For God’s sake, ET, ease up. We all know you’re a scholar. No need to rub our noses in it. And as for Teach and the Phantom, they’re poking fun at themselves, not others. At least that’s my take.

  14. “Kind of makes you wonder what that text on the box of sweet-and-sour chicken balls from the local take-out really says.”
    Cream of Sum Jeong Gai.
    No?
    Yef?
    Figh Dolla!

  15. Dvid Chan from my hischool days told me the prase for “f^&k off” was.. “dey-ohh-nhey”
    And a woman, or girl was “nooy-dooy”.
    I haven’t tried to ues the phrases, for over 30 years. Probably a good thing….

  16. The same sort of thing used to happen when I worked in the eastern arctic. Whenever I tried to pick up a new phrase in Inuktitut I had to be sure to double check it with someone who didn’t know the person who first taught it to me. One poor chap had been taught a phrase which he believed meant “Have a nice day” but in fact meant “You have nice boobs”. Needless to say the Inuit were killing themselves laughing at someone’s obvious prank.

  17. and here’s a angst ridden old white guy, for thinking indians, err aboriginals err, first nations folk were trying to “pull the wool over my eyes”.

  18. This is the same reason people should think twice before getting Chinese characters tatooed onto their hides. How would you like to be a walking advertisement for “Yung Dung Do’s Restaurant” or worse?

  20. While taking a sign language course several years ago, a student from Hong Kong had to make a stmt in ASL. We all had to do that, using the sign learned last week.
    He signed (tried to) I am shy, love cold —
    Unfortunately he did the sign for shy backward and ended up signing I am prostitue, love cold. Never got past that as we all laughed as he realized he had made an error but did not know what. And yes, he did come back the next week.

  23. It has nothing to do with the Dutch or Chinese or whomever not having a sense of humour. It has to do with US, in our superior smugness, mocking other people for their poor pronunciation of our language.
    This has NOTHING to do with using the wrong words. We can all, on both sides of the linguistic barrier, share a laugh on that.
    This is about US – mocking someone else who is trying to speak our language.

  24. Take a trip to Vancouver and especially Richmond, BC home to a gazillion Chinese. You might learn a thing or two 😉

  25. ET, for reference, google “Engrish.” It’s the term used for poor translations to english. A lot of them are absolutely hilarious.
    I agree that laughing at a person’s accent is despicable, but I’m not sure this was the case here.

  26. ET: I agree that unilingual English North Americans can be a bit impolite while attempting to converse with allophones; I think it reflects a measure of insecurity rather than arrogance.
    Chinese people (notwithstanding public transit behavior) are very polite. A westerner attempting to speak Chinese would usually be complemented on his or her vast linguistic ability whether or not the recipient actually understood a word.
    By the way, xie xie is Mandarin, I think tomax7 was probably trying to impress his Hong Kong friends in Cantonese 🙂

  27. ….glasnost, right you were. I did a bang up job of it too…they were laughing their heads off and the secretary who taught me do-che (phonetically) was beet red.
    Me, I think I lost about 3′ to my height…
    😉

  28. ET, my Chinese pronunciation is good for a laugh in pretty near any Chinese restaurant. I order the steamed pickerel, and the waitress is rolling on the floor. “He said…[snigger] … [giggle]… BWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!”
    Being old yet hopelessly juvenile, I of course do it on purpose.
    Because making fun of other people’s funny accents is a universal human giggle. Like fart jokes. ~:)
    And yes, I am MUCH more annoying in person. You have no idea.

  29. ET wrote: “Chinese CAN pronounce ‘r’ and ‘l’.”
    I work with a Chinese programmer who speaks excellent English (C/W colloquialisms and mild swear words). Often she says ‘blah-blah-blah’ but it comes out as ‘bra-bra-bra’. It’s just funny and I don’t think any less or make fun of her for it.
    And now, for your viewing and listening pleasure, Monty Python’s “I Like Chinese”:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04QoA44c23A

  30. i never went into a chinamans apartment without the obligatory 50lb bag of rice on the floor, and the noodles.
    They know we love their cooking, and like some urban legends their meow mein sus foo you, like dockie pau.

  31. tomax7: Kind of makes you wonder what that text on the box of sweet-and-sour chicken balls from the local take-out really say”
    Probably the breed of your dinner of delight. Cat or Dog. Other meat products will just be labled Lucky’s choice.
    The guys who did this will never live it down.
    JMO

  32. titled Illustrated Explanations of Strange Devices.
    Man.And here I thought the Kama Sutra had covered that!!
    I am the token “white guy” in a shop of all Chinese. They go out of their way to help me with their “lousy” Engrish,and they sure get a hoot when I try speaking to them in Mandarin.Hey.I figure in another year,I should be at least able to swear at them correctly!!
    And yes,ET.They can say “r” and “l”,but not very well in English,which I think is the point,as my tone usage sure sucks! But we have fun doing it.Dick all about superiority.Or is that supeliolity?? Heh.

  34. Saw a car ad in a Vancouver newspaper “1988 Rincoln for sale”.
    Funny, obviously a phone in ad to someone who knows nothing about cars.
    Priceless.

  35. Spleeking of engrish,is tlue stolly:
    A telephonic exchange between a hotel guest and room service, at a “no-star” hotel somewhere in Asia. Recorded and published by the Far East Economic Review.
    Room Service: “Morny. Ruin sorbis”
    Hotel Guest: “Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service”
    RS: “Rye … Ruin sorbis … morny! Djewish to odor sunteen??”
    HG: “Uh … yes … I’d like some bacon and eggs”
    RS: “ Ow july den?”
    HG: “What??”
    RS: “Ow july den? … pry, boy, pooch?”
    HG: “Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry, scrambled please.”
    RS: “Ow july dee baychem … crease?”
    HG: “Crisp will be fine”
    RS: “Hokay. An san tos?”
    HG: “What?”
    RS: “San tos. July san tos?”
    HG: “I don’t think so”
    RS: “No? Judo one toes?”
    HG: “I feel really bad about this, but I don’t know what ‘judo one toes’ means.”
    RS: “Toes! Toes! … why jew Don Juan toes? Ow bow singlish mopping we bother?”
    HG: “English muffing!! I’ve got it You were saying ‘Toast.’ Fine, an English muffin will be fine.”
    RS: “We bother?”
    HG: “No … just put the bother on the side.”
    RS: “Wad?”
    HG: “I mean butter … just put it on the side.”
    RS: “Copy?”
    HG: “Sorry?”
    RS: “Copy … tea … mill?”
    HG: “Yes. Coffee please, and that’s all.”
    RS: “One minnie. Ass ruin torino fee, strangle ache, crease baychem, tossy singlish mopping we bother honey sigh, and copy … rye?”
    HG: “Whatever you say.”
    RS: “Tendjewberrymud.”
    HG: “You’re welcome.”

  37. …all I remember when I ‘screwed’ something up is Becky (the lady from Hong Kong) would always yell (teasefully)at me:
    “HIE YA TOM”
    …guess that means, ‘way to go bonehead’. Don’t care what version.

Proudly powered by WordPress & Skyrocket Themes

MENU

Navigation