Have yet to decipher this.
Many more here.
Aric
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Thankfully, the English part has been taped over in most (if not all) subway stations. What’s hilarious is that “after first under on” isn’t even a literal translation of 先下后上, which would have at least been understandable, but rather something that someone must have thought was a “more proper” translation.
John B,
Yeah, went the other day and the same sign had been taped over…good stuff.
Aric
The old grammar rule in English was that you should never end a sentence with a preposition, to which Winston Churchill replied “A preposition at the end of a sentence is something, up with which, I shall not put”.
Maybe we could ahve a little rule for writing these signs “Never start a sentence with 2 adverbs, plus 2 prepositions followed by a present aspect and a gerund” Surely these chaps athe subway could remember that.
In fact the sentence is quite revealing of Mandarin syntax.
Funny it is what happens sometimes when things translated literally are…
OK, I’ll stop now. “Stop now, shall I”?
It’s like listening to a Chinese Yoda…but Irish.
Yoda is cuter than Ken-kanobi, I must say.
Elmo and Funks Guide to Advance-Up English Translation
Rule 1: First must always go after, but before second.
Rule 2: If it’s under, then put it on top.
Rule 3: When riding, stand.
Rule 4. If being civil is clear, then please do.
Why the black tape?! Censorship. The grammar patrol!
Sigh–the world gets a little less interesting, I say it is.
Hope there still can be, the future is now near.
Aric,
Correct. I’m known in these here parts as “Chinese Yoda who is Irish Yoda”.
People from far and near know that I be a man who prefers to fight than to eat, and vice versa.
Gosh, this is FUN!
Oh Yoda Yonder Do
In a meadow dear
Stood a grand man still
In his hand twas a spear
Not for fight but for dill
Pickle, rye and beer.
All rights and lawsuits reserved 2006 Lantian
Why do I picture Lantian sitting on a beach, fruit-jucie on the table (with a little umberlla on the top of it)? Something like the CPod Don Johnson, but a poet who knows it?
Makes you wonder if the cast of CPod (and of course Lantian and Bazza are included) were cast in a Star Wars remake…who would be who?
I’d be Reeve Gootch.
THIS IS FUN!
Who is Reeve Gootch?
Aric a.k.a. Han Solo
I wonder what translation software they were using. Alta Vista’s Babel Fish translates it as: “After first under on, the civilization rides in a carriage”.
Well, I’m the tall guy now, so I guess that makes me Chewbacca?
Kevin, this is hilarious. I doubt if they used software, probably just some old guy in the office who claimed he could speak English. In a sense, he can, as he has brought out the poetry in us.
Someone should tell him about his wonderful Wednesday conversation that his “English” lent us.
John is Chewbacca, Ken: Choda (Chinese Yoda), myself an obvious dashing Han…Jenny as Princess Leah?
Who’s good at photoshop?
This is probably
“let others off before boarding, ride civily”
“board after (others) disembark, be nice”
Perhaps this comes from too many people saying “out of my way you !@#$, I’m trying to get off the train!”