I scanned the menu in a Tamil Nadu restaurant. Usually, my Indian husband orders for me, but having traveled to India several times, I boldly navigated through odd sounding items. Then I reached items 125-127.
Crap? Shocking!
Then look above that, at item 121. Chilly prawns? Cold shrimp? Or did chilly mean spicy like chili peppers? I ordered naan. Naan is bread. Chilly or not, naan seemed safe. It wasn’t crap.
The next day we took our nephew, Sanjay, with us to Western Union.
Notice the word “cons” above. Now, this is where spelling mistakes and irony mix it up.
Sanjay (left) held the bills to the light and discovered several counterfeits in the batch. He handed them back to the attendant in exchange for real rupee notes. Now, who is the con? (Thanks for that help, Sanjay)
So, with our cons jingling in our pocket, my husband and I flew to Goa. Not yet adjusted to India time, we woke at four in the morning and decided to walk to the Arabian seashore. After a few hours, we were hungry. The only place open for breakfast was a sweat shop. Yes, a sweat shop. Advertising cakes, no less. Didn’t the owner know that mistaken letter could land him in deep carp with authorities? Ok, so maybe they didn’t have ten-year-old’s working in the back and maybe it was a legit cake shop. But still, the word “sweat” and “cake” should not be together in advertising signage. Eww. Gross. Imagine biting into a moist cake from a sweat shop.
India is a large country, with many well educated, intelligent people and these were just a few fun misspellings I ran across. I can’t imagine if I’d have to write signs in Tamil. We find typos everywhere, not only in India. We find them in our own writings and occasionally in well-edited bestselling novels. We all make mistakes. I’m sure there’s a few in this blog. But watch out, because one misplaced letter can turn something that otherwise might be savory, into crap.
www.dictionary.com is a great place to start to find the difference between “sweet” and “sweat” or the one that always gets me, “lay and lie.”
There are many writing resources on the web. Here’s my short list of great resources that can make our writing more professional and less like crap:
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/
http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/
http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/
And speaking of the root word, “resource,” Indians are incredibly resourceful. I accidentally broke my husband’s expensive pair of glasses. Everywhere from optical to jewelry shops in Kansas City said the break at the nose piece was unrepairable. My husband assured me that, in India, they could fix them. And they did. You can’t even tell they were broken.
And you gotta love the resourcefulness of this guy. Most would never attempt to haul that many bananas on a scooter.
Enjoyed this, Holly. There’s a new preschool that’s opened up near our house in Hyderabad, India.
Its called Racy Kids.
🙂
Ha Ha! Funny!
oh Holly I loved this. You are so humorous. Thanks for sharing.
your welcome 🙂
Thanks for the mention–I have to say foreign spelling mistakes crack me up. But, but us English speakers in an foreign language and we’ll make some awful mistakes, too! 🙂
I know. I could do a blog every day just on that topic alone! haha
Holly, I just had to tweet that one. Funny!
Thanks for the tweet Bob! Appreciate it!
Thanks so much for the mention! English typos in a foreign country, I could overlook. But typos on public signs in the US drive me absolutely BATTY.
And that guy with the bananas…wow.
Becca @ The Bookshelf Muse
Thanks Becca. I have some hilarious photos that I’ve taken in India.
Holly,
I’ve come across similar spelling errors in many countries where English is spoken only as a second language.
But I’ve come across nearly as many here in Houston, where English is the official language. One may argue that with 44% hispanic and 6% Asian population there is some excuse. But as many spelling errors come from people who have spoken English as their first language for generations as from the new immigrants or their children.
Thanks for spreading the smiles 🙂 Thoroughly enjoyed your post. I can add to your list the following signboard of a tailor in Bhubaneswar:
Shit and paint specialist.
Then, there was this gentleman who lived opposite my son’s school in Bangalore. The kids shared many giggles over his proudly displayed nameplate:
Mr Potty (we still can’t figure out what the name really was. Maybe Pati)
Too funny! Thanks for sharing.
These signs are all good for chuckles. Think, though, how well most of the world would fare if we had to write signs in Bengali. 😉
No kidding. I really should have said that in the blog. Every state in India has their own completely different language.
What a clash of cultures must sometimes take place! Thanks for this look at things.
Thanks for reading!
When I was active duty at Fort Riley, KS, I found a sign on a display labeled “Warsaw Pack” when it should have read “Warsaw Pact.” I also found a sign where Brigadier was misspelled Brigadeir. Great blog, Holly
Thanks for the chuckle. Now back to my masterpiece…and spell check:)
What a fun post. thank you
Ahhhh, Holly! That is hilarious. I just have to tweet this, along with your Christianity in India post!
Cultural, and other misunderstandings abound in the world. Here is to us rising above them and understanding each other beyond words!
Looking forward to more cool posts!
Cheers,
Lada Ray
Thanks Lada!
Thanks and also for the RT
So glad we found each other so I could have a good laugh reading this post. As you know, my travels overseas are mostly to Russia. Even when I can get a menu in English there, some of the spellings or descriptions of the dishes therein require linguistic gymnastics to decipher. But that’s the fun of exploring the world and stretching ourselves beyond what is comfortable and familiar, right?
Here’s to crap and sweat!
Glad we found each other too. Great to meet another world traveler! It’s a blast!
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