Engrish (website)

Engrish.com is a website that photodocuments examples of "Engrish," the distinctly East Asian phenomenon of conspicuously bungling the English language in both speech and text. [ [http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/08/lolcatters-get.html Wired Magazine article] ]

There are different theories to why Japanese put English words onto almost anything that can have print on it [ [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119381519/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Sociolinguistic Analysis of English in Japanese Texts] ] but the phenomenon is certainly ubiquitous. [ [http://themedium.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/japan/ NY Times article about Engrish.Com] ]

Engrish (and English) appear in Japanese advertisements, business names, signs, menus, clothing, toys, etc. [ [http://www.engrish.com Pictures of Engrish Text] ] Additionally, the incorporation of English words in popular culture is so abundant (music, television shows, and so on) [ [http://www.japanamericabook.com/ JapanAmerica- Bilateral influence of Eastern & Western pop culture] ] that numerous scholars have devoted their studies to it. [ [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/weng/2006/00000025/00000002/art00003 Research about English in Japan] ]

The errors that define Engrish come in many varieties. Often the writing is grammatically incorrect, nonsensical, misspelled, out of context, translated too literally, bizarrely worded, or otherwise inaccurate.

Much of Engrish's popularity stems from it's hard-to-believe, inadvertently humorous or silly-sounding phrases, names, and titles. Sometimes Engrish is unintentionally suggestive, indecent and potentially offensive to native English-speakers.

A few examples: " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/hotel-first-wood.jpgHotel First Wood] ," " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/meetshopbambi.jpgMeat Shop Bambi] ," " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/max-jack-off.jpgMax Jack Off] !" clothing store, " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/blacky.jpgBlacky] " hyper-tanning studio, " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/quick-and-hard.jpgJ.Quick&Hard Co.,] " " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/black-jeans.jpgBlack Jeans for Your Ass] ," and " [http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2008/08/coffe-satan.jpgCoffee Satan] ."

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