Messed up english on T-Shirts?

[GoldCoinLover]

I wish someday, I could go to japan. I plan to save up and visist japan for 2 weeks before I do an exchange program to live there..I hope my community college has some type of exchange program. I'll have to move (somewhere else) if that doesn't happen.

But my hobby of mine is go search "My trip to japan" in google, and the search results brings up alot of peoples trips to japan, what they saw, what it was like, etc. Usually they are americas or english people. This one person said on his website when he went he went to look for T-shirts with funny, humorous sayings on them. Some of them are seriously messed up. Like using explixit swear words..the "F" word. Alot of the japanese people buy them apparently because they were cool. One of these tshirts used the "F"' word , "Explicit you" on it. Unfortunately, the parent who bought this shirt gave it to her 8 year old, who wore it and thought it was cool. They only found out what it meant after a forigner pointed it out to them.

Apparently this messed up english is not a mistake. Japanese companies make it because high school girls buy it? Or its "Cool" or "popular" to have american english on Tshirts? The "best" messed up english on Tshirts they usually cost alot of money. This isn't only for Tshirts either, theres alot of messed up english on signs, posters, the bathroom, train stations, tissue boxes, snacks ("Men's pocky") One of the most memorable tissue boxes had a picture of a puppy playing on it and it said "Tissues made of puppy" . Weird. Is japan obessed with english?

 

[GaijinPunch]

Is japan obessed with english?

It's not really a secret, or new, but in a nutshell as you've pointed out, it's used a lot in fashion. It's even given birth to a very funny and pretty well-known website http://www.engrish.com

 

[Elizabeth]

This isn't related to t-shirts or fashion but you also sometimes find minor English mistakes even on informational sheets for small museums (pamphlets, brochures etc) or other touristic sites. Obviously the translation was done in-house or through a Japanese contractor, they usually just laugh when corrected. But it makes me curious as to how their confidence rose to the level of attempting such a daunting task, or maybe it wouldn't be easy or feasible to have it proofed by a native speaker. :?

 

[Kara_Nari]

Hahha Elizabeth, I know exactly what you mean. Especially for things in public places and at touristy type places where a lot of foreigners go. Its not like there is a great lack of 'English' teachers who could surely help someone out with easy proofreading for a beer.
Hmm maybe that could be my new job?
I remember once seeing a young Korean girl (this is back in NZ) and she said she was 12, anyway she had a teeshirt in which was printed on the front 'smile if you got some last night'. I really dont think her parents knew that 'smile' isn't always a happy childish thing.

 

[GoldCoinLover]

This isn't related to t-shirts or fashion but you also sometimes find minor English mistakes even on informational sheets for small museums (pamphlets, brochures etc) or other touristic sites. Obviously the translation was done in-house or through a Japanese contractor, they usually just laugh when corrected. But it makes me curious as to how their confidence rose to the level of attempting such a daunting task, or maybe it wouldn't be easy or feasible to have it proofed by a native speaker. :?

Why are there so many mistakes on building, signs, tshirts etc?

 

[Kinsao]

Although I have never been to Japan, I saw examples like this on engrish.com and other websites that are similar. These mistakes make me laugh, so I am glad they exist.

I don't know why they seem not to have good English speaking proof readers, though. :?

However, it certainly does make me think about the English language in a much more creative way.

 

[Tsuyoiko]

These mistakes make me laugh, so I am glad they exist.

Maybe they do get proofread, but the proofreaders don't change them 'cos they make them laugh too?

 

[Apollo]

Those kind of t-shirts/signs etc. are not only common in Japan, but seen them in China too....
I wouldn't buy a t-shirt with those kind of spelling mistake, or if it was simply gibberish.

 

[Elizabeth]

Why are there so many mistakes on building, signs, tshirts etc?

A fundamental lack of respect for us as well as being forced to study it for a stupid test, I would imagine.

 

[Minxie]

It's not really a secret, or new, but in a nutshell as you've pointed out, it's used a lot in fashion. It's even given birth to a very funny and pretty well-known website http://www.engrish.com

That website is great & is super hilarious.

I def recommend people to look at it if they're bored at work lol like me.

Anyone know of places I can get t-shirts with something like those phrases on em? (in Japan of course)

 

[Silverpoint]

Anyone know of places I can get t-shirts with something like those phrases on em? (in Japan of course)

Errr... any t-shirt shop in Japan pretty much ;-)

 

[Mars Man]

I know where you're coming from there GoldCoinLover, I've seen more than my share--even on my kids. (But I haven't seen one which I wouldn't want them to wear, yet)
I once pointed out an error on a sign at the pay booth of a toll tunnel here in Matsumoto, and they changed it. (but maybe that's because I use it so often, and am quite friendly with most of the guys working there.)

About coming for an exchange program to Japan, our university has one with one university (junior college) in Nevada. Now at this moment, I don't have that material in front of me, but it is the . . .?Utah Valley State University? I know it had the word 'valley' in the title, and probably 'Utah' or 'Salt Lake'. I'll find out and get back with you. You can check out our uni at the following site (in Japanese only, I'm afraid): 松本大学／松本大学松商短期大学部

Catch you later !! And remember: it is no longer allowed to drive my car to Kamikochi.

 

[yukio_michael]

I'd say that tshirt was the best thing to ever happen to that kid... Seriously there was a band whom I forget, maybe Bump of Chicken, and they had a billboard with all of them wearing helmets on it each spelling out that famous four letter word, it took people some time before someone said, yo~ who wrote that swear? You did!

In this months Men's Egg, there is a tshirt on a girl that says, "I can't stop loving it" in big helvetica type... I don't know what that means, but it's the coolest shirt ever.

The worst shirts are the little jobs that you can buy for kids at jusco that have like a metric tonne of words on them about the purity of surfing... It was hard to explain that A) too verbose, and B) kids just want RAD! and Awesome to the max... not something about the Diamond Way Buddhists.

 

[Davey]

I am wondering about other country's but in my country it was pretty cool a couple of years ago to wear t-shirts with japanese/chinese characters on it.. it was cool.... just the meaning is probably the same as what japanese do with the english... IT JUST DOESNT MAKE SENSE

mickey is also known as minnies boyfriend... * i saw this english t-shirt in japan.. what

 

[duff_o_josh]

tonight i saw one that said"he doesnt love you, he doesnt care about you, he just wants to f u c k you"

hahahaha it was funny. i dont know if the girl knew what it meant,

 

[Minxie]

tonight i saw one that said"he doesnt love you, he doesnt care about you, he just wants to f u c k you"

hahahaha it was funny. i dont know if the girl knew what it meant,

that is so f'n hilarious lololol

mickey is also known as minnies boyfriend... * i saw this english t-shirt in japan.. what

and so is that... hahahahahahahahahha

 

[ArmandV]

Not just t-shirts...

Sometimes messed-up English shows up on movie advertisements. The example below was put out by Toho for U.S. film distributors at the American Film Market in 2002. The tag line left many of us laughing.

 

[HJain]

This isn't related to t-shirts or fashion but you also sometimes find minor English mistakes even on informational sheets for small museums (pamphlets, brochures etc) or other touristic sites. Obviously the translation was done in-house or through a Japanese contractor, they usually just laugh when corrected. But it makes me curious as to how their confidence rose to the level of attempting such a daunting task, or maybe it wouldn't be easy or feasible to have it proofed by a native speaker. :?

Here you go

 

[thomas]

Here you go

Now that's a sign I love to see as a cyclist!

 

[HJain]

Now that's a sign I love to see as a cyclist!

Here is another beauty - Narita airport