This is the first in a series of posts dealing with the little details lost in translation. Today's example came from a recent visit to a local coffee shop. Forgive the blurriness of the photo but in a way it is fitting.
Friday, May 30, 2008
The Daily Engrish: part I
This is the first in a series of posts dealing with the little details lost in translation. Today's example came from a recent visit to a local coffee shop. Forgive the blurriness of the photo but in a way it is fitting.
http://pagecannotbefound.chinesecensorship.com
One of the first things I did when I got my internet set up was to check wikipedia. As you may or may not know, wikipedia is an online encyclopedia with virtually (pardon the pun) all the information you will ever need. I knew beforehand about China's censorship, but I didn't know exactly how it worked. I thought that when you would look up sensitive information, you would be redirected to a propaganda page about the subject. For instance, I thought that if you were to look up Tienanmen Square you would simply get information about excellent beauty and you should visit great Chinese place. However, all you get is a "Page cannot be found" notice. I guess they aren't that creative in their information filtering.
One interesting thing is that I cannot actually see this blog through regular means. I tried to view my blog and others, but came up with the same block. I asked a coworker about it, but she knew nothing of it. It turns out that blogger has been banned for quite sometime, but that the main site was recently lifted from censorship. So I can make posts and edit the layout, but I cannot actually access shangfryed.blogspot.com without the use of a proxy.
Most people blog about relatively harmless things like what their dog ate today or how they found a lamination machine for cheap. But there are of course those who may not be in line with the Party's wishes and disseminate atrocious ideas about Democracy, freedom of speech, and other monstrosities. The current big story in China is the earthquake in Chengdu. I see it on all the public propaganda televisions and newspapers around the city. All that is told is of the great loss, stories of heroism, and the impressive relief efforts by the government. Yet rare is the story of the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of schoolchildren due to negligent school construction and corrupt government officials. The parents of those children are protesting and demanding an explanation to the unwarranted loss of their children. Their voices are being hushed, and the powers-that-be are offering their condolences in the form of cash in exchange for silence.
How much longer can they keep this up as the middle class flourishes and more and more people have access to the "world-wide-web"? In other news, I saw a cat yesterday... it was cute!
One interesting thing is that I cannot actually see this blog through regular means. I tried to view my blog and others, but came up with the same block. I asked a coworker about it, but she knew nothing of it. It turns out that blogger has been banned for quite sometime, but that the main site was recently lifted from censorship. So I can make posts and edit the layout, but I cannot actually access shangfryed.blogspot.com without the use of a proxy.
Most people blog about relatively harmless things like what their dog ate today or how they found a lamination machine for cheap. But there are of course those who may not be in line with the Party's wishes and disseminate atrocious ideas about Democracy, freedom of speech, and other monstrosities. The current big story in China is the earthquake in Chengdu. I see it on all the public propaganda televisions and newspapers around the city. All that is told is of the great loss, stories of heroism, and the impressive relief efforts by the government. Yet rare is the story of the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of schoolchildren due to negligent school construction and corrupt government officials. The parents of those children are protesting and demanding an explanation to the unwarranted loss of their children. Their voices are being hushed, and the powers-that-be are offering their condolences in the form of cash in exchange for silence.
How much longer can they keep this up as the middle class flourishes and more and more people have access to the "world-wide-web"? In other news, I saw a cat yesterday... it was cute!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Ni hao!
Greetings from 668 Beijing Lu 24E/F Shanghai, Shanghai China! I'm neglecting my work right now by posting this, but I doubt any harm will come from it.
Every morning I get here by taking the line 1 metro from Hengshan Lu (road) to People's Square. It costs 3 yuan (the word for the bill not the currency which is RMB {renmin bing [the people's currency]}) which is about 40 cents. The subway is quite a spectacle. The train is completely packed with people, you literally have to shove your way in and hope your nose isn't caught in the automatic door. Somewhere along the way I stop at a little shop and get a Chinese pastry for 4 yuan, then a coffee (which, believe it or not, is kafei in Mandarin) for about 12. When I get to my office building, I have to wait in a long line for the elevator which of course is packed to the brim.
Working here is almost completely opposite of a normal American firm for an intern. The foreign architects main responsibility is design development. We have very little to do with the boring, non-creative CAD work. My first day I was given a building in a series on a larger site, and was told to design it. It is very excited but also daunting. Usually one would be eased into the design field, but this is somewhat all at once. I won't complain though.
Every morning I get here by taking the line 1 metro from Hengshan Lu (road) to People's Square. It costs 3 yuan (the word for the bill not the currency which is RMB {renmin bing [the people's currency]}) which is about 40 cents. The subway is quite a spectacle. The train is completely packed with people, you literally have to shove your way in and hope your nose isn't caught in the automatic door. Somewhere along the way I stop at a little shop and get a Chinese pastry for 4 yuan, then a coffee (which, believe it or not, is kafei in Mandarin) for about 12. When I get to my office building, I have to wait in a long line for the elevator which of course is packed to the brim.
Working here is almost completely opposite of a normal American firm for an intern. The foreign architects main responsibility is design development. We have very little to do with the boring, non-creative CAD work. My first day I was given a building in a series on a larger site, and was told to design it. It is very excited but also daunting. Usually one would be eased into the design field, but this is somewhat all at once. I won't complain though.
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