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October 6, 2008 10:44:34 PM CDT

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300M 'Chinglish' Speakers Can't Be Wrong

Posted Jun 29, 08 5:52 AM CDT in World,  Glossies,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Some 300 million English speakers in China are altering the language in small but important ways—and may be creating their own dialect, Michael Erard writes in Wired. So-called "Chinglish"—which stresses unique syllables, drops dos and dids, and adds sounds for questions—has already been studied in a Hong Kong exhibit and is used widely in Singapore books and films.

Chinese does not require subjects in its sentences where English does, so travelers there may hear lines like, “Our goalie not here yet, so give chance, can or not?” And the “th” sound is often altered, so that “think" becomes “tink.” “Soon, when Americans travel abroad, one of the languages they may to have to learn could be their own," Erard notes.

Source Wired

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Rural Chinese towns often don't have much experience with native English speakers.   (Shutterstock)
English spoken abroad may become difficult for native speakers to understand.   (Shutterstock)
Foreigners speaking English may use different sentence constructions from native speakers.   (Shutterstock)
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