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International

Beijing Decides Poor Translations Won't Do

By Anthony Kuhn
Published April 18, 2007 at 1:00 PM PDT
This story was published more than 17 years ago.
A lounge at the Nanjing airport offers travelers the opportunity to "lie fallow." The first two Chinese characters in the sign mean "idle" or "leisure," but when applied to farmland, can also mean fallow.
A lounge at the Nanjing airport offers travelers the opportunity to "lie fallow." The first two Chinese characters in the sign mean "idle" or "leisure," but when applied to farmland, can also mean fallow.

As the 2008 Olympic Games approach, Beijing is trying to correct signs all around the city that have been badly translated into English.

For example: a theme park dedicated to China's ethnic minorities had been called "Racist Park." The effort extends to English translations of restaurant menus, and dishes such as carp.

The bad translations are being corrected — not merely for cosmetic reasons, officials say, but also because they may distract attention from Beijing's cultural treasures and cosmopolitan status.

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International
Anthony Kuhn
Anthony Kuhn is NPR's correspondent based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and the great diversity of Asia's countries and cultures. Before moving to Seoul in 2018, he traveled to the region to cover major stories including the North Korean nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster.
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