Bad English Used In Advertising

[Goshawk]

.

[mahtin]

[njpski]

where's the advertising standards council when you need them ?

Makes the vow of celibacy a lot easier to follow!

[Groongthep]

From the business point of view, the upside and downside of considering hiring a native speaker to proof read an ad is easy to calculate. Risk of language error in ad with meaning of said ad still communicated (and which can be measured as inconsequential for ads that aren't targeted towards an *insignificant* minority) vs. no errors in ad + added cost of said ad, not to mention the richer cultural significance of keeping another "native speaker" from realizing some financial revenue (however minor). It's perhaps easier to compare the feelings involved to how much you care that the signs in Spanish and Vietnamese are grammatically correct at your local driver license office in the US for example.

1.) From a business point of view there is no need to hire a proof reader for simple advertisements. If the advertisers would simply ask a native speaker of English to proof read their adds I'm sure someone would gladly do it for free just for the pride of not seeing the language butchered or the advertiser embarrassed. I know I would.

2.) No comparison. There are millions of native Spanish and Vietnamese speakers in the US, many of whom work at the different state's Departments of Licensing, therefore everyone is relatively certain the Spanish and Vietnamese on the signs and forms is correct because the people who make those signs and forms take enough pride in their work to make sure a native speaker writes them (or at least proof reads them). If there were mistakes and a Spanish or Vietnamese person were to complain, someone would be held responsible. Not so in Thailand. No one cares and so one takes responsibility. It's just "Mai bpen rai".

1) An excellent idea. A non-profit organization for grammar and spell checks... but you still have to pay for your own work permit.

2) Silly assumptions all around.

This has to be your lamest response yet.

[Heng]

And yet spot on as usual.

[Groongthep]

Uhhh..Yeah, Right

[Heng]

Yep.

[philo]

If you really want to see their (in)sane English, some TV member should post the original newspaper ad for this:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn41..._n12783317/pg_3

I can remember it was in Bangkok Post or The Nation a few years ago - but I cannot find my copy.

I am shure that there must be a scanable sheet out there somewhere ...

(Reason for editing: Im am not perfect in English myself)

Edited September 24, 2008 by philo

[andyadam]

This was at a sale in Chiang Mai................

[JetsetBkk]

Re my earlier post, it looks like somebody spotted the mistake and bought some more "S"-es:

Before:

Yesterday:

Don't think much of the artwork though:

[rott]

Boring... Why are english so careful about their language and the mistakes? Actually not everybody can fluently speak english.

And sorry for my poor english!

You made a good , ligitimate point , but without accepting a little guidance at times , how do you expect some things to change for the better ? Surely , just for their image , a spot of proof reading would be to their advantage and definately save them some 'FACE'

Oh , please guys , let us not forget that the government is rather inept in this area also .

SAME SAME YOU.

[rott]

From the business point of view, the upside and downside of considering hiring a native speaker to proof read an ad is easy to calculate. Risk of language error in ad with meaning of said ad still communicated (and which can be measured as inconsequential for ads that aren't targeted towards an *insignificant* minority) vs. no errors in ad + added cost of said ad, not to mention the richer cultural significance of keeping another "native speaker" from realizing some financial revenue (however minor). It's perhaps easier to compare the feelings involved to how much you care that the signs in Spanish and Vietnamese are grammatically correct at your local driver license office in the US for example.

spell check is free and those signs are designed on computer. Thai friends of mine are graphic designers and make loads of mistakes, if they took 5 mins to spell check it would be beneficial as there's nothing worse than going to print and then seeing the error, looks unprofesional.

I agree though that it's only important in business......

There is the time cost as well as monetary. The main issue is that these errors are inconsequential.

No the main issue is that it's so easy to do it properly, there are so many native English speakers about.(Spellchecker would help but doesn't understand context or logic). While people are too polite (or think it would be racist or offensive) to point mistakes out they will continue to happen and give the place a mickey mouse third world feeling, so perhaps not totally inconsequential.

[jaiyenyen]

Turning this all around slightly.

Back in the UK a couple of years ago, I was walking around the local House of Fraiser (Very large chain of department stores) and came across a display of Asian products. They had completely mis-spelt the word Buddha on their main signboard. I pointed out the mistake and found ot that the mistake had been made in all their stores.

Although this is an amusing topic, this just goes to show that even native speakers in our home countries can get it wrong sometimes.

[Heng]

From the business point of view, the upside and downside of considering hiring a native speaker to proof read an ad is easy to calculate. Risk of language error in ad with meaning of said ad still communicated (and which can be measured as inconsequential for ads that aren't targeted towards an *insignificant* minority) vs. no errors in ad + added cost of said ad, not to mention the richer cultural significance of keeping another "native speaker" from realizing some financial revenue (however minor). It's perhaps easier to compare the feelings involved to how much you care that the signs in Spanish and Vietnamese are grammatically correct at your local driver license office in the US for example.

spell check is free and those signs are designed on computer. Thai friends of mine are graphic designers and make loads of mistakes, if they took 5 mins to spell check it would be beneficial as there's nothing worse than going to print and then seeing the error, looks unprofesional.

I agree though that it's only important in business......

There is the time cost as well as monetary. The main issue is that these errors are inconsequential.

No the main issue is that it's so easy to do it properly, there are so many native English speakers about.(Spellchecker would help but doesn't understand context or logic). While people are too polite (or think it would be racist or offensive) to point mistakes out they will continue to happen and give the place a mickey mouse third world feeling, so perhaps not totally inconsequential.

I think the main issue is that some native speakers apparently feel left out, not unlike the typical farang son or daughter in law that is left out of the conversation at the dinner table. It's the "why don't they ask me?" syndrome. "How can they go about talking and talking and talking, are they pretending like I'm not there?" "Even when they need to do something in English, they still don't ask me!" In a society where many foreigners are alienated and left out, it's inevitable that some feel like even their most basic of "superpowers," that is *super spelling* and the *ability to magically mold grammar* are their only hopes of social particiation.

[JetsetBkk]

I think the main issue is that some native speakers apparently feel left out, not unlike the typical farang son or daughter in law that is left out of the conversation at the dinner table. It's the "why don't they ask me?" syndrome. "How can they go about talking and talking and talking, are they pretending like I'm not there?" "Even when they need to do something in English, they still don't ask me!" In a society where many foreigners are alienated and left out, it's inevitable that some feel like even their most basic of "superpowers," that is *super spelling* and the *ability to magically mold grammar* are their only hopes of social particiation.

I'm guessing you are Thai?

[Heng]

I'm guessing you're not Mel Gibson?

[uptou]

Not exactly bad english but i like the name of the establishment- "pussi massage" in Luang Prabang,laos,which is very near to the famous pussi hill.Maybe some members here have been for a pussi massage?

Theres a good restaurant called "no one" restaurant in bkk,but i think they had Number one in mind,but its definitely no one on the menus & sign.

[southbot]

There used to be a Tattoo shop in Nathon with a sign out front that said "TATTOOS WHILE YOU WAIT"

That was a real shame because I wanted take aways.

Here is a sign I found, ain't not Engrish or Tinglish but it is quite odd.

[bonobo]

Of course many Thai people are fluent in English... and many are not.

When you are creating a public [and probably expensive] sign in English - it's only common-sense to get a mother-tongue speaker to proof-read it.

When I write my restaurant menus in Thai, I get my Thai staff to check that I've written everything correctly.

Logical, isn't it??

Oops, I forgot that common-sense and logic don't exist in Thailand..

Simon

This is the key.  Just get a native-speaker to proof it.

I went to one of CP's sites.  This is one of the two alrgest companies in Thailand, I believe, and this division actually has offices in the US. Yet the site was a huge mishmash of poor English. 

This company is huge and has native English speakers as employees.  If it is important enough for them to have an English language website, isn't it important enough for them to have it done correctly?

As a business professor in the past, I used to accept anything for an exam. If I could understand it, I would give the students the appropriate credit.  However, for presentations and papers, the students had to turn in work which was written properly.  My advice for the non-native English speakers was to use proofreaders for anything they were going to submit to me. (Actually, I advised even native speakers to do that as well.)

[Payboy]

not exactly a spelling mistake....

[Bangyai]

No exactly an advertisment but I saw this hand written sign outside a guesthouse in Chiang Mai many moons ago :

NO GRILS IN ROOM.

Which was a shame because I hadn't traveled all the way to Chiang Mai only to be denied the right of cooking my own hamburgers. Killjoys !

[Aries74]

[Aries74]