Chinglish, Singlish & Other Lishes
Vagina Tandoori
When you live and work around the world, you become acutely aware of the pitfalls of language. Marketing lore is filled with stories of language faux pas, some delightful. There’s the famous letter from a New York buyer reporting on the new fall line and the sweaters that “tickled her to do death.” The factory in central Europe was dismayed that their sweaters “scratched her until she died.”
Soon Fat
Restaurants are a constant source of language fun, and I howled when a friend in Malaysia sent me some pictures of restaurant names gathered worldwide. I’ll share a few with you in this post, and more later if there is demand for it. Watch out for menus, too. There was a decent restaurant around the corner from my office in Taipei that featured “cow penis in brown sauce.” I don’t believe cows have them and, veteran of Rocky Mountain oysters though I am, I never mustered the courage to order it.
My Dung
Restaurants aren’t the only source. Taipei also boasted the Yelling Dentist Clinic, and Honolulu once had Junko’s Beauty salon. If you have some to contribute, please send them in.
