Most expats in Taiwan quickly learn what life must be like for the illiterate. Very few of us can read Chinese characters, so a simple trip to the grocery store can be tricky. Monosodium glutamate in a clear plastic bag looks deceptively like sugar, but doesn’t go over nearly as well when you serve it to guests with their tea. That tub of lard sure LOOKED LIKE sour cream. And so forth.
Sometimes, products here are labelled in English. The labels may be grammatically incorrect, but it doesn’t matter. Just seeing them takes some of the risk out of a purchase, and for that I’m grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Having said that though, I sometimes see a few things written in English that are unintentionally humorous. Here’s one that made me smile:
Spaghetti by Ma’fia. Huzzah for the Gombah!
(It tastes pretty good, actually.)
UPDATE (Feb 22/06): Turns out there’s a Ma Fia’s Italian Restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Don’t ask me how they managed to slip that one past the PC police.
i-1
The name in Chinese is ‘mafia’ (heishou)