Then there is this sign:
Only one thing wrong with this: you don't prosecute a vehicle, you prosecute the driver. Do we have anyone left in the government who knows the difference?
Trying to make sense of a weird world - and maybe make it a little better. If that's not possible, then laugh at it. Those with shorter attention spans may enjoy us on Twitter at Private Pebble.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Do they even know it's wrong?
Many long term residents of Hong Kong have remarked on the deteriorating standard of English in the territory that likes to proclaim itself "Asia's world city". Wellcome supermarket continues to display posters in some of its branches exhorting customers to "Use less plastic bags". Good idea, but as someone pointed out several years ago, shouldn't there be a companion campaign educating the public to "Use fewer water"?
Then there is this sign:
Only one thing wrong with this: you don't prosecute a vehicle, you prosecute the driver. Do we have anyone left in the government who knows the difference?
Then there is this sign:
Only one thing wrong with this: you don't prosecute a vehicle, you prosecute the driver. Do we have anyone left in the government who knows the difference?
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3 comments:
I don't have any problem with the level of English in Hong Kong.
Signs such as the ones you mention add to the charm of the city.
A few grammatical errors here and there aren't really worth a mention.
Granted, the error in the slogan is of little consequence. However, the second example is a legal notice, and should therefore, I feel, be held to a higher standard of exactitude; although it would be fun, on being given a ticket, to argue in court that it should have been given to my car instead.
What do you expect from Wellcome. They can't even spell their own shop name correctly. English is becoming terrible here - agreed.
There's an interesting dynamic at play: Hong Kong only has eyes for China; yet conversely China is increasinly outward looking. Just look at the spate of outbound M&A at the moment.
We're walking into a dangerous position. Hong Kong doesn't even register on the Mainland. It's a blip, and they frown upon HK's baseless uneducated society.
A Chinese friend of mine refers to Hong Kongers as proto-neanderthals.
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