Shanghai's Language Commission said it will establish a task force within the year to correct wrong, awkward and confusing English-language signs appearing in public spaces.
The commission also intends to create a standard to be used for road signs, traffic indication boards and other signs in English.
The commission, working on a 1-million-yuan (US$120,000) annual budget, said it expects special funding from the government to carry out the endeavor beginning next year.
"The task force will be comprised of 10 or more experts in the English language," said Sun Xiaoxian, a com-mission official.
"While most of the experts will be selected from local universities, we are also considering enlisting help from foreign experts who are familiar with Chinese society."
At its inception, the language com-mission was chartered to deal with only the standardization of Chinese. But with the increasing use of English in public spaces in Shanghai, the commission was also given the task of regulating its use in public places several years ago.
Last year, Shanghai received 2.7 million overseas tourists. Following the city's successful bid to host the World Expo 2010, the task was added with urgency. The commission vowed to wipe out the rampant "Chinglishisms" before the expo.
Historically, Shanghai had the most extensive adoption of English language in the Far East in the early 20th century.
"In that time, English was widely used in foreign banks, missionary schools and various places in concessions, particularly those controlled by Britain and the US," said Lu Gusun, a renowned professor of English at Fudan University.
"Some local streets had English names first, then Chinese names," he said.
The situation changed dramatically during the 1950s when most Chinese schools and universities shifted to teaching Russian instead of English for political reasons, he added.
During the following "cultural revolution" (1967-76), English was almost categorically abandoned.
"Though people are keen to learn English nowadays, the level of English proficiency among the public is still low," Lu said.
Just browse the city's venue titles and you will easily get confused:
What could a "God's Power Hi-Tech Company" produce?
Imagine the confusion at finding a teenagers' campsite named "Oriental Green Boat."
Or how to apply for a job with the "Shanghai Municipality 1990s Badly-needed Personnel Training Project."
Sun said correcting fractured English is something that the commission can-not do alone.
She said her commission will work together with other government agencies -- such as the urban engineering and commercial administration departments -- to solve the problem.
"It's possible that police would join us to correct the improper use of English language. For example, if a shop owner refuses to change a wrongly translated shop sign," the official said.
(Eastday.com July 7, 2003)
