Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Speak Mandarin Campaign, NDP organisers sorry for language gaffes

Source Website: http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/speak-mandarin-campaign-ndp-organisers-sorry-language-gaffes
By Ose Hong, The Straits Times, 12 July 2017 at 06:00 am
读 or 渎? Speak Mandarin Campaign apologises for linguistic error
PHOTO: 读 or 渎? Speak Mandarin Campaign apologises for linguistic error
The third letter from the left in the red boxes, “dú” in Mandarin or “read in English”, was written wrongly.
瀆 (Traditional Chinese) - 渎 (Chinese simplified), dú - ditch, to show disrespect, 三点水
讀 (Traditional Chinese) - 读 (Chinese simplified), dú - read, 言字旁
Photo: Lianhe Zaobao
Picture posted by Ose Hong, The Straits Times on 12 July 2017 at 06:00 am
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http://www.tnp.sg/sites/default/files/styles/rl680/public/articles/2017/07/12/np_20170712_jhchinese12_1587913.jpg?itok=Benq6I-b
http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/speak-mandarin-campaign-ndp-organisers-sorry-language-gaffes


One mistake was in the use of the wrong Chinese character in a rostrum sign, the other in the mistranslation of Tamil in pamphlets.

Yesterday, the organisers of the Speak Mandarin Campaign and National Day Parade 2017 apologised for the errors.

At Monday's launch of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, instead of using the Chinese character for "read", the character for "to show disrespect" was used on a prominent sign.


The word 'read' in Chinese character should look like this.
PHOTO: The word "read" in Chinese character should look like this.
The word 渎, Hanyu Pinyin: dú, means “longkang”, or “to neglect”.
Picture posted by Redwire Singapore on 11 July 2017
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4x5zmK2TOICTiKJXANv_OSBhHqxSLHGMotg9_1fHfBfX3JUUf-JZnPxTOsdG5iAAKBvxHtLhBIWx6da2duHOVg65YIc09jEvvATL-zkK8U305XK7igN14dsqMW9olwlXmobEIosfO13z/s1600/du_read-chinese-character.jpg
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https://news.xfer.tk/speak-mandarin-campaign-2017s-epic-longkang-fail/


The organisers, in a statement posted on Facebook yesterday, said it regretted the "erroneous rendering" of the characters, and that it will take steps to address this.

Both characters sound the same when spoken. In written Chinese, the two look similar but have a unique element that changes their meanings.

Only the rostrum display used the wrong character, The Straits Times understands.

Guest of honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, had helped launch the event. In her speech, she said a good grasp of Mandarin is key to understanding and appreciating the Singapore Chinese culture.


Guest of honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, had helped launch the event.
PHOTO: Guest of honour, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, had helped launch the event. In her speech, she said a good grasp of Mandarin is key to understanding and appreciating the Singapore Chinese culture.
Picture posted by Redwire Singapore on 11 July 2017
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYiSLILajJiCsFqoA9hYo4_vJkG-4Kp0J1i4WVe8EwfGA_l0BF6fvSoEcMkWR7rtwfHnxhGCVxOWZWLq6SW7UVfH6CGq8joGJC5vrAmExVYzbIp8JEfVU1MkeIQc3xQyFEum8Oqq-r9JOx/s1600/redwire-singapore-speak-mandarin-campaign-epic-fail-2.jpg
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https://news.xfer.tk/speak-mandarin-campaign-2017s-epic-longkang-fail/


"You cannot excuse it," the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore president Tan Siah Kwee, 69, told ST.

In the NDP case, there were errors in the Tamil translation of the theme #OneNationTogether, printed on publicity pamphlets given to Primary 5 students from 162 schools ahead of its National Education (NE) shows.

Some letters were in the wrong places while others were missing, making the words unintelligible.

In a statement, the NDP 2017 executive committee apologised. It added that souvenir booklets with the correct translation were later handed out during the NE shows on July 2 and 8, and will be done so on this Saturday's NE show.

This prompted Bukit Batok Murali Pillai to file a parliamentary question yesterday about the errors and steps taken to ensure that such mistakes do not happen again.

1979: Lee Kuan Yew launched the first Speak Mandarin Campaign to encourage the use of Mandarin over the use of Chinese dialects.
PHOTO:  1979: Lee Kuan Yew launched the first Speak Mandarin Campaign to encourage the use of Mandarin over the use of Chinese dialects. This was to promote the national Bilingual education policy.
“I have no regrets. I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There’s nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life" – Lee Kuan Yew, (1923-2015)
Picture posted by Lloyd Yeo, Master Teacher (History) at Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE) on 20 March 2015
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https://pt.slideshare.net/LloydYeo/life-and-times-of-lee-kuan-yew-slides
 

the mistake of  the wrong Chinese character in a rostrum sign
PHOTO: On the mistake of  the wrong Chinese character in a rostrum sign; "You cannot excuse it," the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore president Tan Siah Kwee, 69, told ST.
In the NDP case, there were errors in the Tamil translation of the theme #OneNationTogether, printed on publicity pamphlets given to Primary 5 students from 162 schools ahead of its National Education (NE) shows.
Some letters were in the wrong places while others were missing, making the words unintelligible.

This prompted Bukit Batok Murali Pillai to file a parliamentary question yesterday about the errors and steps taken to ensure that such mistakes do not happen again.
Header picture posted by The Straits Times in its facebook page.
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https://www.facebook.com/TheStraitsTimes/posts/10154574724262115

By Ose Hong, The Straits Times, 12 July 2017 at 06:00 am



Reference
[1] Ose Hong, The Straits Times, Speak Mandarin Campaign, NDP organisers sorry for language gaffes, posted on 12 July 2017 at 06:00 am, http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/speak-mandarin-campaign-ndp-organisers-sorry-language-gaffes
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