[Ren]

10 Ways to Translate Kung Pao Chicken

（英文）

Up until a few years ago foreigners coming to China had a hard time trying to eat out. Never mind having to master the art of chopsticks, unless you had studied Chinese for many years you were simply stumped by the menu. With few exceptions menus were written entirely in Chinese making the names of the dishes nearly impossible to decipher. If you were very fortunate the menu had pictures to help you choose, otherwise you simply had to close your eyes, point and hope for the best. Things changed though when more and more foreigners began to arrive and an increasing number of menus were translated into English. Because most Europeans and North Americans can speak English at least as a second language, this was a good business move as the offer of an English menu would immediately attract more custom.

However, it seems that most restaurants do not worry too much about who (or what!) does the translating. More often than not they rely on the help of a friend who speaks a smattering of English, translate word for word with a dictionary, or employ some form of electronic translation software. The results are hilarious although not altogether professional. And if you are really hungry, an unreadable menu is naturally very frustrating. For example: perhaps you have arrived in China hoping to eat some authentic Kung Pao Chicken a favourite dish in America and many other countries abroad. ‘It can’t be that hard to translate,’ you may say. Yet, what you are most likely to find is this:

- Government abuse chicken
- The Palace explodes the chicken cube
- The Temple explodes the meat

Like those above, the translations sometimes sound intriguing and exotic; however the results are not always so enticing…like these:

- Bacterium With Chicken
- Crap Eggs with Bamboo Flavour
- Preserved Eggs Lean Meat Gruel
- Dishes with Human Pickles
- Salted SuckLiver

Whilst it is funny to read the above translations, when you are famished what do you really want? A good laugh or to be able to understand the menu so that you can make your choice? Clearly, for a restaurant to attract foreign speaking customers it needs a clear, readable menu with accurate translations. Make sure that once your business written material has been translated into English it is carefully proofread before you publish it.