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Engrish is a slang term for the inaccurate, poorly translated, nonsensical or ungrammatical use of theEnglish language by native speakers of other languages.[1] The word itself relates toJapanese speakers' tendency[2] to struggle to pronounce the English/l/ and/r/ distinctly arising from the fact Japanese has only oneliquidphoneme (usuallyromanizedr), but its definition encompasses many more errors. Terms such asJapanglish,Japlish,Jinglish, orJanglish are more specific to Japanese Engrish.[3] The related Japanese termwasei-eigo (和製英語: 'Japanese-made English') refers topseudo-anglicisms that have entered everyday Japanese.
The termEngrish first appears in the 1940s (suggestive of a mispronunciation ofEnglish) but it was not until the 1980s that it began to be used as a byname for defectiveAsian English.[3] While the term may refer to spoken English, it often describes written English. Engrish can be found in many places, including signs, menus, and advertisements. The words are frequently humorous to speakers of English.
In Japan, for example, it is common to add English text to items for decorative and fashion purposes (seecool). Such text is often added to create a cosmopolitan feeling rather than to be read by native English speakers, and so may often be meaningless or grammatically incorrect.
Japanese and English have significantly different grammar:Japanese word order, thefrequent omission ofsubjects in Japanese, the absence ofarticles, a near-complete absence ofconsonant clusters, anddifficulties in distinguishing /l/ and /r/, or /θ/ and /s/ sounds, all contribute to substantial problems using Standard English effectively.[4] Japanese people have tended to score comparatively poorly on international tests of English.[5]
Further, English is frequently used in Japan (and elsewhere) for aesthetic rather than functional purposes;[6] i.e., for Japanese consumption, not for English speakersper se, as a way of appearing "smart, sophisticated and modern", in much the same way as Japanese and similar writing scripts are used in Western fashion.[7] Such decorative English is not meant to be read and understood by native English speakers, so emphasis is not placed on coherence or accuracy.[8]
The Japanese language also makes extensive use of loanwords, especially from English in recent decades, and these words are transliterated into a Japanese form of pronunciation using thekatakana syllabary. Japanese speakers may thus only be familiar with the Japanese pronunciation or Japanese meaning, rather than its original pronunciation or meaning. This is particularly the case when the source English word contains sounds or sound clusters which have no equivalent in katakana.[citation needed]
Engrish has been featured occasionally inSouth Park, an American animated TV show byTrey Parker andMatt Stone. One example is the song "Let's Fighting Love", used in the episode "Good Times with Weapons", which parodies the poorly translated opening theme sequences sometimes shown inanime. Parker and Stone's feature-length filmTeam America: World Police (2004) also features Engrish when the North Korean leaderKim Jong-il is depicted singing the song "I'm so Ronery".[9]
The British fashion brandSuperdry, which takes inspiration from Japanese clothing styles, has established a style of placing meaningless Japanese text such as 'Sunglasses company' and 'membership certificate' on clothing sold in Britain.[10] The company explained to a Japanese television news programme that most translations were done using simple automatic translation programs such asBabel Fish, without attempting to make the texts accurate.[11]
The Internet meme and phenomenonPolandball uses Engrish for non-Anglo countryballs by replacing some words with words from their native languages.
there is often no attempt to try to get it right, nor do the vast majority of the Japanese population ever attempt to read the English design element in question. There is therefore less emphasis on spelling and grammatical accuracy.
The North Korean dictator speaks in the voice of 'South Park's' Eric Cartman, ... only with an Engrish accent. 'I'm so ronery,' Kim confesses in a pitiful ballad to himself, which explains his evil-doing—he just needs to be ruvved.
