a googlebox translation

[ Reported by Ding Weichieh, Liu Lijen/]

Taiwan public facility English wrong are many, the foreigner radically is unable to continue watching! The Jiayi area mail box time limit mail English indication “PROMPTDELY”, has the public figure of foreign nationality to newspaper to report English simply does not have this character, he looks at “the fog ghost ghost”. Jiayi post office Manager Huang Xiu E indicated that, “PROMPT DELIVERY” is comparatively understood the easy to understand mode of writing, “PROMPTDELY” simplifies the mode of writing, because this game of personnel according to the new stipulation, the prompt renewal has not been “PROMPT DELIVERY” is the result of, this game as fast as possible will carry on the renewal. The Taiwan postal service company issued the service project bilingual comparative table, explicitly showed “the time limit specially delivers” English is “PROMPT DELIVERY”; Appears this mistake regarding the Jiayi post office, Taiwan postal service General Manager Wu Minyu indicated that, the mail box is the main corporation unifies sends a package of purchase, but above English indication, then sprays paint by each place post office, can ask the Jiayi post office as fast as possible to correct, also can comprehensively understand whether each place post office does have this mistake, carries on the improvement. The foreign reader indicated that, in each place time limit mail vertical mail box, only has the Jiayi area English indication is “PROMPTDELY”, he looked up the dictionary, and the inquiry friend, all masters “PROMPTDELY” the meaning, lets him “look gathers together 嘸”, why doesn’t understand unexpectedly can appear two kind of different English indications with a country. Regarding this, Jiayi post office Manager Huang Xiu E indicated that, “PROMPTDELY” is “PROMPT DELIVERY” the simplification mode of writing, “PROMPTDELY” “DELY” is “DELIVERY” the simple form, this mode of writing department follows for a long time down, but, for lets the populace or the foreigner understands easy to understand, the main corporation postal service enterprise distinguishes the system to renew is “PROMPT DELIVERY”, this game has not renewed according to the new stipulation, has a mistake, as fast as possible will carry on the renewal. 郵務 the personnel indicated that, the postal service new image promotes the enterprise to distinguish the system, including the vertical mail box and so on 郵務 the correlation appliance, all has the enterprise distinguishes the system (CIS) the use standard, the vertical mail box average every two annual meetings repair coat with lacquer, the service, the overall plan send the package of each place post office to defer to the enterprise which the main corporation stipulated to distinguish the system, carries on the adjustment.

from the Liberty Times newspaper in Taiwan, about the red mailbox photo you blogged about.

June 19 issue

〔記者丁偉杰、劉力仁／綜合報導〕台灣公共設施英文錯誤多，老外DanBloom 根本看不下去！嘉義地區郵筒限時郵件英語標示「PROMPTDELY」，有外籍人士向本報反映英文根本沒有這個字，他看得「霧煞煞」。

嘉義郵局經理黃秀娥表示，「PROMPT DELIVERY」是較明白易懂的寫法，「PROMPTDELY」是簡化寫法，由於該局人員未依新規定，及時更新為「PROMPT DELIVERY」所致，該局將儘速進行更新。

台灣郵政公司發佈的服務項目雙語對照表，明確說明「限時專送」英文是「PROMPT DELIVERY」；對於嘉義郵局出現此一錯誤，台灣郵政總經理吳民佑表示，郵筒是總公司統一發包採購，但是上面的英文標示，則由各地郵局噴漆，會請嘉義郵局儘速改正，也會全面了解全國各地郵局是否有此錯誤，以進行改善。

外籍讀者表示，各地的限時郵件立式郵筒中，只有嘉義地區的英語標示為「PROMPTDELY」，他查了字典，並詢問友人，都搞不懂「PROMPTDELY」的意思，讓他「看攏嘸」，不懂為什麼同個國家竟會出現兩種不同的英文標示。

對此，嘉義郵局經理黃秀娥表示，「PROMPTDELY」是「PROMPT DELIVERY」簡化寫法，「PROMPTDELY」的「DELY」是「DELIVERY」的簡寫，該寫法係長期沿襲下來，不過，為讓民眾或老外更明白易懂，總公司郵政企業識別系統已更新為「PROMPT DELIVERY」，該局未依新規定更新，有所疏失，將儘速進行更新。

郵務人員表示，郵政新形象推展企業識別系統，包括立式郵筒等郵務相關器具，都有企業識別系統（CIS）的使用規範，立式郵筒平均每兩年會重修上漆、維修，統籌發包的各地郵局則按照總公司規定的企業識別系統，進行調整。

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清大英文標示 也有錯字

〔記者劉力仁、申慧媛／台北報導〕台灣郵政主要業務是在送信，郵筒英文出錯還情有可原，有外文系的清華大學英文標示也出錯，高知識份子來來往往無人發現，就比較說不過去，連老外也不禁搖頭。

「溜冰場」的英文應該是「Roller Skating Rink」，但讀者提供照片，清華大學校園內路標將「Skating」寫成「Skatong」，英文明顯出錯，這名讀者說明，這個指標設置在校園學生、教師出入最頻繁之處，何況清華大學內還有外文系，竟無人發現、改正。

清大行政副校長葉銘泉解釋，師生每天經過該處，可惜沒人發現該單字拼錯了，有點不好意思，既然發現了，校方會馬上更改的。

他表示，雖然清大有外文系，且師生英文程度都不錯，但大家很少關心到路牌的英文字拼對了沒，而校內路標多交由行政人員或工友職員辦理，不見得每個人的英文程度都很好，驗收人員也多針對路標品質驗收，可能因而疏忽了路牌上的英文。

BAD SPELLING: When Danny Bloom brought a misspelled English-language sign to the attention of Chiayi Post Office, the personnel thanked him but nothing was changed

By Shelley Shan
STAFF REPORTER
Taipei Times, Taiwan

June 18, 2007

“Promptdely,” a word now printed on some of Taiwan Post’s red mailboxes, could well baffle English speaking foreigners living in the country.

The word was created to replace “prompt delivery,” the original term placed under the express service mailbox slot.

“At first, I thought it meant Prompt Deli service, as in delicatessen,” said Dan Bloom, a US freelance writer living in Chiayi.

Bloom later brought this to the attention of the Chiayi Post Office. The post office personnel thanked him for noticing the error, but nothing was changed.

When Bloom first noticed the mailbox with the new term, he suspected that it was a nationwide phenomenon.

“I believe that they made stencils for the painter to spray-paint the new term on the boxes, and this stencil is the same all over Taiwan now,” he said, adding that he was not criticizing the post office for the mistake and simply wanted to help get English-language signs spelled correctly.

Huang Hsiu-e (黃秀娥), manager of the Chiayi Post Office, told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that the word “promptdely” was an abbreviated form of the term “prompt delivery.”

She said the post office has been using the word for many years, but that Taiwan Post Co has now decided to change it to “prompt delivery” so that foreigners and local residents would be able to understand it.

“We have not yet corrected the sign as per company requirements,” she said. “We will try to update it immediately.”

Bloom said mistakes like these are normal, given that English is not an official language in Taiwan.

“But the government could just ask their foreign friends in town to double-check for them and see if the English translation makes sense,” he said.

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