Shanghai Works to Correct Embarrassing Typos on English Signs

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By Justine Lopez

Have you ever found Shanghai’s English-language signs to be confusing? Well, turns out you’re not alone. The city is now on a mission to correct spelling and grammatical errors in its English and Mandarin signs. 

On Thursday, a team of local authorities, language experts and residents set out to find any and all mistakes found on signs in tourist attractions, bus and train stations, airports and hotels, Xinhua reports. In the end, they found that many translations were not only incorrect but often confusing and nonsensical. 

For example, a sign found at the Shiliupu Pier reads “Please Attention the Frequency Acceleration.” Chai Mingjiong, a professional translator and interpreter, says this sign should actually read “Watch Your Step,” Shine reports.

Now that the errors have been identified, the city will work to fix the translations of signs in order to improve tourists’ experiences. The crew will check signs again next month in order to make sure the proper corrections have been made.

The move comes ahead of the China International Import Expo which will take place in November. The event draws visitors from around the world.

Over 4 million foreigners and 100 million domestic tourists visited Shanghai during the first six months of this year.  

[Cover image via Christopher/Flickr]

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