Living and working in a foreign country has increased my English vocabulary with words described as “Denglish” – a mix between German (deutsch) and English. Two of the most pervasive Denglish terms in my life are “handy” (it’s a noun, not an adjective, meaning “cell phone”) and “beamer” (meaning “projector” as in the thing you plug to your laptop to present your PowerPoint slides).

Non-native English speakers all over the world are adapting English and inventing new words and expressions. The estimated number of English speakers in the world (including non-native speakers) has grown from 250 million to 1.3 billion in the last 40 years and the number is growing.

Variations of English are cropping up everywhere. Hinglish (Hindu-English) and Singlish (Singapore-English) both have large populations, but Chinglish (Chinese-English) with 250 million past and present English students in China has been noted as one of the prime drivers of globalization of the English language.

A few of the top Chinglish expressions include:

• No noising (Quiet Please)
• Airline pulp (food served by airlines)
• Question Authority (Information Booth)

For more fun with Chinglish, visit www.chinglish.de or Wiki.

Have you encountered words or expressions like this (half English, half something else) in your company or during your travels? Please share.

Image from chinglish.de

Post from: EveryJoe

Denglish, Chinglish, Hinglish and Singlish