The introduction was actually a pretty thoughtful meditation on why Chinese translates into English so badly (i.e. humorously). The author/editor postulates that phrases like "no can do" came from the kind of crazy pidgin English you find in this book. ( )

This book really doesn't have a reason to exist. I mean, if there's anything the Internet is for, it's shit like this. And wow, the German Sinologist who compiled it and the linguist who wrote the foreword sure treat it like a serious and noble undertaking when it's just about a few cheap laughs, with all their talk about the future role of English and the nature of cross-cultural communication. But they do good with bringing in the kind of sentimental silly tear-to-your-eye marketing copy on stationery and shit, and reviews and things that aren't even ungrammatical but give you a sense of how English is used in a Chinese context, as well as your "children stick in source" menus and whatever. And I liked seeing that Great Wall sign from Jinshanling about saving your own life by not picking the flowers. And "deformed man bathroom" will always be funny. But yeah, not a tonne of reason to exist. ( )

Any book that makes me laugh out loud this much gets 5 stars. ( )

"As China opens up to tourism, more and more signs have to be translated into English. But as these hilarious examples prove, something is usually lost in the translation." (Daily Mail (London) )