What’s Engirsh? How about Japanglish?

Surely, many of you have heard or seen Engrish first-hand. It’s basically the incorrect or confusing English found in many countries….but mostly in Asia and more specifically Japan….which is also where “Japanglish” comes from. I’m not trying to put the Japanese people down about this, but being an English teacher in Tokyo, it certainly makes me feel like I’m fighting a losing battle here.

Everywhere I go, there are prime examples of English gone wrong…. but no one seems to really mind, as long as there is some kind of English included, it’s “cool” *(>_< )*

I’ve shown examples of some Engrish that I came across in this previous post….. and here are some more!

Mostly Spelling Mistakes:

Sometimes I’m not sure why it was approved…

It’s impossible to go a day in Tokyo without Japanglish!

Um….First what?

Passed this by and did a classic double take…..

Personally, I find the tea on it’s own quite nice, but the ad just turns me off…..

Japanglish

Japanglish is a topic I enjoy talking about with many people. It’s great entertainment, sometimes confusing, but overall, it’s fantastic to sharpen your own english skills. I even use japanglish examples for my students to identify the mistakes and correct it in proper english.

Here is a sign from a cute little shop in Yokohama:

A t-shirt found in Harajuku:

A sign in an office building near Tokyo station:

and a children’s play mat:

It’s everywhere, but not only mixed english, there are very interesting french signs as well -I’ll have to get some snaps for next time!