Chinglish
Sino-English linguistic blend
Chinglish is English marked by Chinese linguistic influence—awkward phrasing, unusual word choices, or grammatical patterns transferred from Mandarin or other Chinese languages.
The term typically describes unintentional errors in signs, menus, or product packaging: The hotel sign read "Deformed Man Toilet".
It can also describe the English of native Chinese speakers still acquiring fluency.
The word blends Chinese and English, following the pattern of Spanglish and similar terms.
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- loanwordsAdopted foreign vocabulary
- transliterationCross-script phonetic spelling
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
- neologismNewly created expression
bilingualism · calque · interference · cross-linguistic · hybridization · sociolinguistics · interlanguage
Departing from established norms
- mispronunciationIncorrect vocal rendering
- interferenceUnwelcome involvement in affairs
- calqueBorrowed phrase translated literally
- interlanguageEvolving system between tongues
vernacular · colloquial · simplified · hybrid · substrate · fossilization · overgeneralization
Humorous Japanese-to-English errors
- mistranslationErroneous rendering between languages
- signsDisplays conveying information
- menusLists of available dishes
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
malapropism · misinterpretation · funny · mangled · gibberish · puns · absurdity · viral
Lists of available dishes
- noticesPerceives or announcements
- instructionsGuidance on how to proceed
- labelsIdentifying markers attached to items
- warningsAdvance notices of danger
airports · hotels · subtitles · packaging · advertisements · restaurants · hospitals · transportation
code-switching
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- loanwordsAdopted foreign vocabulary
- transliterationCross-script phonetic spelling
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
neologism · bilingualism · calque · interference · cross-linguistic · hybridization · sociolinguistics · interlanguage
nonstandard
Departing from established norms
- mispronunciationIncorrect vocal rendering
- interferenceUnwelcome involvement in affairs
- calqueBorrowed phrase translated literally
interlanguage · vernacular · colloquial · simplified · hybrid · substrate · fossilization · overgeneralization
Engrish
Humorous Japanese-to-English errors
- mistranslationErroneous rendering between languages
- signsDisplays conveying information
- menusLists of available dishes
wordplay · malapropism · misinterpretation · funny · mangled · gibberish · puns · absurdity · viral · memes
menus
Lists of available dishes
- noticesPerceives or announcements
- instructionsGuidance on how to proceed
- labelsIdentifying markers attached to items
warnings · airports · hotels · subtitles · packaging · advertisements · restaurants · hospitals · transportation · museums
- Cultural Fusionfusion cuisine, fusion jazz, fusion dance, syncretism, hybridity
- portmanteausbrunch, smog, motel, spork, chortle
- bilingual writingbilingual signs, parallel text, bilingual dictionaries, phrase books, code-switching
- World EnglishesSinglish, Hinglish, Japanglish, regional variations, creole
- Asian American TheaterFOB, Golden Child, yellowface
- language mixingcode-switching, code switching, mixing, alternation, switching