What I am referring to is the style of written English in Hong Kong; Hong Kong English aka. “Hongkish”.
I had wrote about this subject back in May of this year. The article stirred up quite a few controversy among people I know and the general public Netizens who read my Blog.
I say “the written English…”, because this and the majority of the previous article are based on signs displayed in public.
Today I saw the following sign on a Star Ferry:
“Do not smoke and put your feet on the bench”
So is Star Ferry Company saying that people who don’t put their feet on the benches can smoke on the boat?
What I think Star Ferry Company wanted to say is:
“Please do not smoke or put your feet on the benches”
Another trait I noticed about Hongkish, is that it is usually the impolite version of the phrase. This is very puzzling to me, especially when the (Traditional) Chinese version is the polite form of the phrase rather than a command like the English version (Hongkish version).
Another sign I also saw within the Star Ferry was:
Please mind a moving gangplank when disembarking and embarking”
I think they meant to say:
Please mind the moving gangplank when disembarking.
When the sign is displayed well inside the boat there is no reason to mention embarking.
I believe there should be an organization formed by the government or the Tourist Association of Hong Kong to correct all these public displayed signs, before they embarrass Hong Kong any further.