Sunday, October 19, 2008

My Own Chinglish. Probably.


What I wrote in English (because she can actually take it to another English-speaking ayi or to the compound office to get it translated):
"We have a new kitten and he is in the pantry. Peter is curious and may try to hurt him. He will also eat the cat food. Please keep kitten in the pantry if Peter is out and you can't watch them. Thank you!"
Yes, I can write (read: copy words from a book) in Chinese. Once in awhile I have a go at it--but my word choice is largely dictated by the number of strokes it takes to write a character. But here's what I wrote:
"We have a small cat. The dog will eat the cat food. The dog might bite the cat. The cat is in the kitchen room. Keep door closed if dog is out."
Note that I didn't say please and thank you. That's not cultural. That's because those words are really hard to write.
Of course, who knows what I really wrote? I bet ayi has a good laugh tomorrow.
AND, my lack of paragraphs is not cultural. I am fully aware of how to write in proper paragraphs. As opposed to Blogger.

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