Reflections

Douglass Endrizzi
Slightly frivolous, but fun. I had a student send me a chain email full of English and Chinese positive quotes. I was reading them, and I noticed a few where the English is quite different from the Chinese. Here’s my two favorite, from which I will extrapolate to make erroneous assumptions about Chinese culture in general:

Email’s English: Fall in love with someone..
Email’s Chinese: 尝试坠入爱河……如果不影响你的其他更重要的事情
My translation: Fall in love with someone…if it doesn’t influence your other more important affairs.

Email’s English: Live up to your name.
Email’s Chinese: 别辱没你的名声
My translation: Don’t disgrace your name.