I tend to notice mistakes on signs. Sometimes the mistakes make me feel frustrated, but usually they fall somewhere on the spectrum between interesting and hilarious.
This warning from the Singapore Police, spotted in a toilet stall in Cineleisure at Orchard is semantically equivalent to “Have you left all of your valuables behind?”
Although it is a somewhat plausible question, I think a better question would be one that has a slightly different meaning, less like “Have you left everything behind?” and more like “Have you left anything behind?”
This warning, spotted in The Clementi Mall, makes it sound like the belongings themselves are dangerous, like a sign that says “Beware of Dog” or “Watch Out for Falling Rocks”, though admittedly neither of those warnings starts with ‘please’.
Of course the intent is something like ‘take care of’, and ‘watch out for’ sometimes has this meaning. “Watch out for your children” means ‘keep a lookout’ so that they come to no harm, but the meaning doesn’t transfer to inanimate objects as nicely.
While we’re nitpicking, we might as well point out that the exclamation mark seems extraneous. No final punctuation is needed since the words are all capitalized. Alternatively, only one capital letter is needed, since it’s a sentence with end punctuation.
When I read this:
Dumex, proudly nurturing Singapore babies with global expertise and experience.
I thought, Wow, Singapore babies have global expertise and experience?
The preposition ‘with’ is ambiguous. It could mean ‘having’ (which is what I thought at first) or it could mean ‘using’ (which is what was intended).
Kronenbourg, there’s a flaw in your logic:
If you think French wines are good, you should try the beer.
Actually, I think it could be either of these two flaws:
I guess appeal to emotion gets old among marketers eventually.
Once you start using stock photos, you see them everywhere.
The Asian guy on a chair in the Tokio Marine ad looked familiar because he is the illustration for “The man sat.”
I spotted this hilarious Engrish sign at Book Mart at The Central. It is (I assume) not a joke but rather the best translation they could manage.
Thank you for usually favoring it more. This time I will perform store remodeling construction in the following schedule. I am so sorry, but a store is closed until November 3. I really trouble it, but it, please be understood.
I think it means:
Dear customers, thank you for your continued support. The shop will be closed for remodeling until November 3. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
If you are looking for a better translation for “please be understood,” consider:
Thank you for understanding.
Thank you for your understanding.
Thank you for your kind understanding.
This has got to be the most legit use of Papyrus I have ever seen.
Except maybe this one.
This place is on the the top floor of Far East Plaza right across from our favorite Japanese restaurant, Nanbantei.
The name makes me laugh because it sends so many signals at once.
I half expect to see them put up a sign that says, “We also serve roti prata, tacos, hamburgers and pizza!”
Five times more people are learning English in China than there are people in England.
Wow.
How many times have I seen construction sites or trucks marked with this logo and thought it said ‘sandwich’? I guess when riding the bus, sometimes I’m a bit ‘blur’. Or hungry.
