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Contributed by Editor One
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Tuesday, 29 March 2005 |
 "Have a happy!" urges the Japanese storefront. "This is just good freshness," purports the plastic bag of squid legs. Anyone who has had the good fortune to visit Japan has encountered the curiosity of Engrish. The Japanese have adopted English as a second language, but have not quite managed to make it their own. They label products and storefronts with phrases that make native English speakers scratch their heads in puzzlement or just burst out laughing.
Google counts a quarter million pages in a search for the word, "Engrish." Some are familiar to travelers, like the sports drink with the unappetizing name of " Sweat," or the inspirational Sony " PrayStation." The lengthier Engrish passages have the feel of haiku slowly self destructing. A hair salon sign recently enthused,
The hair style is symbol of womanlike.
Like a sirouette and expression of
when you scrutch up your hair.
There are plenty of locations on the web devoted to the study of Engrish. Here is one with a regular influx of new sightings.
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