さぁ、変な英語を直しましょう！-
毎週木曜日に、変な英語の写真が出ます！
X 3 kinds of fresh fish assortment
Tim says:
Three kinds of assortments? Oops, no, this is worded incorrectly. Not three different kinds of assortments; one assortment of three kinds of fish!
O An assortment of three kinds of fish
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X A grilled lamb
Tim says:
The problem with this menu item is the “A” before it. If “lamb” is countable, then it must be an ENTIRE lamb — 羊の丸焼き！ Types of meat are uncountable nouns, so there shouldn’t be an “a” here.
O Grilled lamb
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X Andian Conndo
Tim says:
This zoo sign has some problems with spelling. First of all, this bird is from the Andes mountains. So it’s “Andean”, not “Andian”. Does “Andian” mean it belongs to a man named Andy?!
The second word is also misspelled. The bird is a “condor” not a “conndo”. They’ve spelled it almost like “condo”, which is short for “condominium” (マンション). I haven’t seen a condo that had feathers before…
O Andean Condor
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X The original taste
Tim says:
“Original” has several meanings. Japanese usually use it to mean “created by a particular person, company, etc; not a copy,” but sometimes they use it with grammar that suggests a different meaning.
If you use “the” before “original”, the meaning becomes “the first or earliest.” It seems to mean that this shop’s hot dogs taste the way hot dogs tasted back when they were first invented! If you really think about it, that’s almost exactly the opposite meaning from what is intended on this sign!
To use “original” to mean “not a copy”, this would be better:
O Our own original flavor
However, perhaps to avoid confusion, American advertisers would be more likely to use the word “unique”:
O A unique flavor
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X Vending Machine to donate part of the sales
Tim says:
This sign reads as if it were a newspaper headline. Except, as a headline, it’s incomplete, because it doesn’t explain what was sold. “Part of the sales”… of what? Also, vending machines do not think, so a vending machine itself cannot donate money!
Of course, this is actually written on the side of the vending machine, so it’s clear what is being sold: drinks! But because it’s not in a newspaper, this wording sounds strange.
We could change it to “This is a vending machine from which part of the sales will be donated“; this grammar is better, but I don’t think a native English speaker would write it that way. Starting with “Part of the sales…,” as below, sounds more natural. However, another question remains unanswered: who is the money being donated to??
O Part of the sales from this vending machine will be donated to…
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X We’re sorry ,but now it’s so busy, no tables available. Wait in the line.
Tim says:
There are various, minor problems with this sign. The comma placement in the first sentence is odd. The first one should have a space after it, rather than before it!
“It’s so busy” sounds too conversational for a sign; perhaps even a little childish. “Now” would sound more natural if placed after “busy.” The comma after it should be a semicolon (;), OR replace the comma with “that there are”: “it’s so busy that there are no tables available.” （開いているテーブルがないほど混んでいます）And “wait in the line” sounds a bit too direct, a little rude.
Here’s a better way to phrase the whole sign:
O We’re sorry, but there are currently no tables available. Please wait.
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X Bum’s a Bet
Tim says:
I would really like to tell you what this hair salon should be called. But, unfortunately, I have no idea!
A “bum” can be a homeless person (a rather negative expression), or (in British English) it can mean 「お尻」. “Bet” means 「賭け」, such as a “bet” on a certain horse to win a race.
「ホームレスが賭け」?? What does that mean? Is it meant to be a play on words? A joke of some kind? I’ve been wondering for years.
I hope someday I can understand this mysterious shop name!
O ??????
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X We are now process deposit.Please be waiting.
Tim says:
Whoever wrote the English for this money exchange machine really needs to learn how to use “-ing”!
“-ing” is needed in the first sentence. A verb following a form of the verb “to be” (such as “are”) should have “-ing”. If it doesn’t, then it will appear to be a noun. “We are process”? Is “process” the name of your group?
In the second sentence, they have used the “-ing” form on a verb following “be”, but this looks strange in a request form! In a request, it looks better to simply use the basic form of the verb.
Also: Whose deposit is it? It’s yours! And, please don’t forget to put a space between the sentences!
O We are now processing your deposit. Please wait.
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X Escalator to Down Only
Tim says:
When you arrive at Down, what will you do there?
“Down” is not a place, so it’s strange to use it with “to”. Just like you can’t “go to shopping”, you can’t “go to down”. Often, “down” is an adverb, as in “this escalator is going down.” It can also be an adjective, as in “the down escalator.” You could use it either way to correct this sign:
O These escalators only go down O Down escalators only
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
X American Milk Toast
Tim says:
This isn’t exactly a mistake, but this is a poor choice for the name of a business, because of the other meaning of “milk toast”.
Or, actually, “milquetoast”. In the 1920s, there was a comic strip called “The Timid Soul”, featuring the character Caspar Milquetoast. He was, as the title suggests, a timid (臆病) and wimpy (弱気) person. The character was very popular, and “milquetoast” became a common expression to mean someone who is timid and wimpy. It’s still commonly used, although the comic strip character is not well known anymore.
So calling a restaurant this name makes it sound rather wimpy. Also, Americans seldom eat milk toast these days! This shop actually sells French toast — although that makes the “correction” sound rather self-contradictory! Is it American, or French?!
O American French Toast
周囲にある英語を見て、果たしてそれが正しい英語なのだろうかと感じる英語はありますか？「あの英語は絶対に間違っている」という英語の表記はありますか？看板の写真を撮って、Machigai.comに送りましょう！とんでもない英語だったら、このコーナーで出します！
