By Valerie Osipov
Calling all grammar nerds – grab your figurative red pens and your meticulous eye for detail: Beijing just launched a citywide quest for translation fails.
If you’ve wandered around the city long enough, chances are high that you’ve probably run into one or ten signage errors. Some are minor, some are slightly more humorous and some have downright made meme history.
Now, thanks to the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, you can use your grammar skills to help the greater good.
They launched the official exercise, '2018 Online Correction of Erroneous Public Sign Translations,' on March 27.
The motive is a more efficient and engaging way to correct translation errors around the enormous city, assumingly before the 2022 Winter Olympics, according to Slator.
In addition, Qianlong Net, the city's online news media run by Beijing Municipal Committee's publicity department, has started publishing a series of articles that will serve as somewhat of a translation guidebook. The articles feature common signage terms and their correct translations in categories such as scenery and traffic.
Monthly prizes will be awarded as an encouraging incentive to deserving participants, based on aspects such as quality and number of entries, all of which will be judged by a panel of meme gods. Just kidding, they’re grammar experts.
Found a winner? Here's what you need to do: Visit Qianlong Net's interview page to fill out a few details regarding the exact location and the error in question. Easy enough (if you're on the English website).
It’s the ultimate grammar quiz. Get hunting, Beijingers!
Since it's unclear exactly how much longer we'll have left with these world wonders, here are some of our personal favorites from the Internet:
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