Li Hao
THERE should be no mixed use of pinyin and English in road signs, which could make foreigners confused, Ghanaian Anthony Prempeh yesterday told officers of the city s transport bureau.
Prempeh was one of seven expats invited by the Shenzhen Daily and the transport bureau to take a bus ride around Futian and Nanshan districts to inspect and correct wrong English translations on road signs.
Zizhu 6 Dao should be Zizhu 6th Road because Dao doesn t make sense to foreigners although Dao in Chinese means road, Prempeh pointed to a road sign near the transport bureau in Zhuzilin in Futian.
In company of the bureau officers, the expats stopped whenever there was a big road sign, checking carefully whether there was a right English translation and having discussion with the officers on the minibus.
The E in Shahe Road E should come before the Road and not be abbreviated, because E bears a lot of meanings besides east, said Irish Vincent Coleman, who has been living in Shenzhen for four years.
Yesterday s correction tour was part of the city s ongoing campaign to remove and correct signs displaying poor English in public places, which started earlier this month.
The campaign calls for a joint effort by city residents and media to build a better English language environment in the lead up to the Universiade, which expects to see more than 10,000 foreign athletes and guests from around the world.
At least one team would check signs around the city at weekends until the end of April and report the result to the city s foreign affairs office.
Shenzhen media organizations have also started focusing on the issue, sending reporters and photographers to inspect English signs on public transport and public venues.
The city government has planned to promote the corrections as a routine in future, encouraging residents to give suggestions on poor English signs. The city foreign affairs office has compiled a list of recommendations for the English translation of public signs, which can be downloaded at www.szfao.gov.cn.
Shenzhen Daily readers can also e-mail their opinions to szdaily@126.com.
