There are lots of examples of broken English on signs and T-shirts all over the non-English speaking world. I've been teaching ESL/EFL for more than 20 years, so I'm pretty forgiving. I also think that in the middle of some poor Third World country, it doesn't really matter that much and I don't blame them. The companies have limited budgets and expertise......however, in Korea, where almost everyone has a computer and it takes very little effort to spellcheck something especially if you are using a computer to produce your signs, I really don't understand it. I'm not talking about sentences that a spelling checker can't check or the weird sentences that result from using an online translator, but just simple words. If you do a lot of business in English, you should hire an English speaker. If you don't do much, shouldn't you be extra careful? If I had a business in Vancouver, and I wanted to put up a sign to attract Korean business, I'd certainly make sure it was right.
I'm kind of torn about whether to go in and them that that's not how you spell 'Chinese,' but, if they are happy with the sign, I don't want to disappoint them. Could they even get their W50,000 back from the shop that made it? Probably not.
Now, that small sign is not really such a big deal, but, if you were spending thousands of dollars on a honking big sign to be displayed in the center of Seoul, wouldn't you be a little more careful?
If you were manufacturing a huge neon sign to display a customer's name to everyone, wouldn't you ask an English speaker if it made sense?
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My wife and I were given a "Congraturations!" card by the Ritz Carleton hotel, no less. Do a search on my blog (or the Marmot's, or EFL Geek's) for "Krispy Kreme," and you'll really see a howler!
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