Maybe they made the mistake from misunderstanding something like "Fukin' A!"? There are times when *I'm* not certain if something is meant to be good or not, or if (as I gather from context) it's good, how. Case in point? "Bitchin'". The English speaking world throws around "Fucking" with enough abandon that I don't blame the Japanese for getting it wrong. No other nation would use something so misunderstood in advertising though... I hope.
I wouldn't say "no other nation" quite yet. The Japanese aren't the only users of gratuitous English. I'm looking forward to even more of these things as Asia gains promiinence (I have quite a collection I saw in Japan).
I've seen some mangled English in some other places, granted, but none so... flagrant... as what comes out of Japan. Then again, my travel experience in Asian nations is nil. I've been to Japan and Hong Kong, but not so that I'd remember, which is no basis for any sort of judgement.
Hong Kong probably does have better English then Japan certainly, but I'm not sure how much.
I think the Japanese issue is partially cultural, but mostly that because everyone has some sort of education in English so everyone recognizes enough of English to get the general gist of some statements, but not enough to understand all the meanings or nuances. I've found that the best way to take a cheesy animated film seriously is to watch it when it's dubbed into a foreign language you only barely understand - you'll get the point without the scenery chewing. So my suspicion is that when China (like Taiwan) starts to do more English, they'll end up with some of the same things.
I suspect the west has it to. We just can't read the Chinese characters that people put on goods and clothing...
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-10 02:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-10 02:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-10 02:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-10 02:27 pm (UTC)I think the Japanese issue is partially cultural, but mostly that because everyone has some sort of education in English so everyone recognizes enough of English to get the general gist of some statements, but not enough to understand all the meanings or nuances. I've found that the best way to take a cheesy animated film seriously is to watch it when it's dubbed into a foreign language you only barely understand - you'll get the point without the scenery chewing. So my suspicion is that when China (like Taiwan) starts to do more English, they'll end up with some of the same things.
I suspect the west has it to. We just can't read the Chinese characters that people put on goods and clothing...