T-Shirt Fashion
- Thread starter Elektra
- Start date
- 26 Feb 2003
- 2,337
- 86
No real reason really. Just more of the same "Engrish" I guess. I don't think too much effort is actually put into using grammatically correct structures when maketing towards a younger demographic. As long as it "looks cool" and is in English... heh. I've seen some pretty bad/risque things on garments too...
wintersweet
Nihon ni itai na...
- 30 Jun 2004
- 137
- 3
It's trendy and "exotic," just like abusing kanji is in English-speaking countries. (See www.hanzismatter.com )
MasterGeek
The Nerd
- 24 Apr 2005
- 27
- 0
I didn't really get the website...what does have to do with the topic of this thread?
wintersweet
Nihon ni itai na...
- 30 Jun 2004
- 137
- 3
MasterGeek said:
A demonstration that misuse/abuse of foreign languages is far from unique to Japan.
- 8 Jul 2004
- 675
- 27
I've heard about Japanese girls that have burst into tears when they are told what the engrish on their new shirt really means.
marcus314
日本に住みたい!!
- 25 Apr 2005
- 54
- 0
mikecash said:
When I was in France for exchange the people there were so crazy about Asian culture. Intead of me learning French from my billets, I ended up teaching them Chinese characters and taught them how to count from 1-10.......
I didn't learn much French from that trip!
^_^
- 8 Jul 2004
- 675
- 27
Me too.mikecash said:
budd
先輩
- 10 Jul 2003
- 2,069
- 19
what a pleasant surprise!!! i thought for sure this was one of those "i don't know how to use google. where are the japanese fashion pictures, doyeee" type threads.
but this is quite an interesting discourse (imo)
"A demonstration that misuse/abuse of foreign languages is far from unique to Japan."
That is it!!! thanks for the website link!!!
"And I've personally encountered ones who replied that they know precisely what it means."
wahahahahaha
but this is quite an interesting discourse (imo)
"A demonstration that misuse/abuse of foreign languages is far from unique to Japan."
That is it!!! thanks for the website link!!!
"And I've personally encountered ones who replied that they know precisely what it means."
wahahahahaha
- 8 Jul 2004
- 675
- 27
I wish I could find the post from another board where a guy tried to worm his way out of explaining what "Best Tits In The Country" meant to a nice high school girl.
Shibuyaexpat
先輩
- 19 Jan 2005
- 195
- 25
I realize that some of you may find this to be strange, but I actually find "engrish" to be rather educational. first, consider that english, like all languages, are an evolving work. (thanks in part to shakespeare, a lot of the words we use now in english was considered bastardization of the proper language). second, it helps to understand how the japanese think. take for example a recent ad i read on the train. I couldn't make out the bulk of the ad (btw, why are Japanese ads like pamphlets with so much written text?), but the english part read "clean your heart." Now, strictly speaking, that's a very improper use of the words, but consider that "clean" and "beautiful" are the same in Japanese (kirei) and one gains a little understanding in how the Japanese look at things. Now, i'm not saying this is the applied rule for all situations, but after the initial snicker, "engrish" can be helpful.
marcus314
日本に住みたい!!
- 25 Apr 2005
- 54
- 0
Shibuyaexpat said:
So are you saying that "clean your heart" actually may mean "beautify your heart?"
I agree with you about the education aspect of engrish. It's true, listening to people of different race speak English usually gives you an insight of the own languages of the speakers......this may explain why people of different races have their own ways of speaking English (I am excluding people who can speak fluent English). Each way reveals something of their own culture......
^_^
Kinsao
Horizon Rider
- 8 May 2005
- 8,515
- 143
Hi
Hey, yes! I love to read 'Engrish' sometimes. I'm not in Japan (OK, shoot me!
) but sometimes the Japanese use of English just makes my brain work in a much more creative way 
One of my friends coined the word 'degressively' (as in 'their relationship got worse degressively') - not sure if it's a real word but it exactly conveys its meaning... 
Shibuyaexpat said:
Hey, yes! I love to read 'Engrish' sometimes. I'm not in Japan (OK, shoot me!
) but sometimes the Japanese use of English just makes my brain work in a much more creative way One of my friends coined the word 'degressively' (as in 'their relationship got worse degressively') - not sure if it's a real word but it exactly conveys its meaning... 
