I took the top picture when I was in China some times ago. There was no problem with the Chinese words. However, the English words were confusing. It was due to the spacing. The correct English should be : Please cherish your life, swimming is forbidden.
I am quite sure there is a better way to send the message. A simple suggestion was to have a no swimming sign (see picture below ). I believe Tom, Dick or Harry can understand its meaning.
A simple improvement will help to solve the language problem. Unfortunately I was not able to implement this idea for them.
I am quite sure there is a better way to send the message. A simple suggestion was to have a no swimming sign (see picture below ). I believe Tom, Dick or Harry can understand its meaning.
A simple improvement will help to solve the language problem. Unfortunately I was not able to implement this idea for them.
4 comments:
Using signs to guide the public is almost international in practice. The no swimming sign should actually be put up in the first place, but written warning in English and Chinese are necessary, in case there are still people ignorance of this sign. As for the poor placement of English words in a Chinese location, is quite understandable, given the limited exposure of the language in China. The current English language dilema in Beiging felt in the ongoing olympics is a case in point. The authorities in the country should come to terms with these problems and not shy to learn from other countries.
Dear Zen,
Thanks for the comments.
One point I want to stress is using picture to send the message.
Regards
pehsk
Peh - Your emphazis on just using signs is widely practised in Singapore, even in coffee shop toilets showing male and female logos, without the need of having actual word description, and everybody understand them. However, under certain circumstances, in places of danger, a good example is the no swimming sign which should be accompanied by a written warning. Why is it so? This is because of legal implication. Let say for example, if a person gets drown swimming in a dangerous spot, his family can still sue the authority for not giving a written warning despite the display of a pictorial sign of no swimming. In the court proceeding they plead ignorance of understanding the no swimming logo, claiming ambiguity, and therefore may win the case against the authority. So to safeguard ones interest, a written warning has to be issued together with the sign.
Dear Zen,
You are right. I have seen signs with warning wordings. Just to be at the safe side.
Regards
pehsk
Post a Comment