tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post7896320150400367295..comments2024-02-21T02:19:19.666-07:00Comments on hanzismatter.blogspot.com: Joanne Raine's "Supermarket" Tattootianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14696711693095229683noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-71472211372005281182007-12-12T13:14:00.000-07:002007-12-12T13:14:00.000-07:00another victim of the "Asian Font" idioc...another victim of the "Asian Font" idiocy?MJ Kleinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16859263977094071677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-52577899362426500392007-12-12T15:17:00.000-07:002007-12-12T15:17:00.000-07:00Nope. Roo using the Asian font would have a repeat...Nope. Roo using the Asian font would have a repeated character. The photo shows 3 distinct characters.Adjustinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00300214821991107159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-88872634169683551872007-12-12T15:36:00.000-07:002007-12-12T15:36:00.000-07:00So, what does her friend's tattoo say?So, what does her friend's tattoo say?pepperjackcandynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-90615344903208345772007-12-12T15:56:51.540-07:002007-12-12T15:56:51.540-07:00Perhaps "supermarket" means something in...Perhaps "supermarket" means something in romantic in whatever language that is she was speaking.coljacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-5638108597823464622007-12-12T16:40:00.000-07:002007-12-12T16:40:00.000-07:00OK, that seems to say 盟联行, méng lián xíng/háng. P...OK, that seems to say 盟联行, <i>méng lián xíng/háng</i>. Pledge-ally-conduct? Surely that doesn't mean "supermarket"? Wouldn't that be 超级市场?<br><br>If they really wanted "roo", they could have gone for "入" in Mandarin, or "ル" in katakana. Or perhaps 袋鼠. :-)David Shortnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-72088863218703616442007-12-12T17:56:00.000-07:002007-12-12T17:56:00.000-07:00Justin-From the Northeast Echo article:Miss Raine ...Justin-<br><br>From the Northeast Echo article:<br><br><i>Miss Raine said: "They had Chinese symbols on the wall.<br><br>"So I picked capital r, capital o and small o, so they were all different."</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-71300602664804399002007-12-12T18:13:00.000-07:002007-12-12T18:13:00.000-07:00Yeah super market is: 超级市场 or shortened to 超市So......Yeah super market is: 超级市场 or shortened to 超市<br><br>So... is this an example of double illiteracy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-46194923151015749652007-12-12T19:06:00.000-07:002007-12-12T19:06:00.000-07:00Justin, the article said:"She went to Skindee...Justin, the article said:<br><br>"<em>She went to Skindeep Tattoo Parlour, in High Northgate, Darlington, and chose a capital r, capital o and small o from the wall and paid £80.</em>"<br><br>so i thought because one "o" was upper cased and the other was lower cased, it would result in 3 different words being displayed. thanks for clearing that up.<br><br>btw, my wife (Taiwanese) thinks that might be part of a store name. if the Chinese people whom were asked didn't have the English skills to properly express that, they might have just said "supermarket" instead.MJ Kleinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16859263977094071677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-54306690689881650582007-12-13T09:00:00.000-07:002007-12-13T09:00:00.000-07:00Yeah, it definitely doesn't mean "superma...Yeah, it definitely doesn't mean "supermarket." I'm surprised Tian didn't say anything about it.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00648240257417783898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-20771886324301607502007-12-13T18:18:59.854-07:002007-12-13T18:18:59.854-07:00Seriously, the girl said she picked three characte...Seriously, the girl said she picked three characters off of a chart, which were randomly paired up with letters from the alphabet, both capital and lowercase.<br><br>It is three random characters<br><br>What is more likely?<br>1. It is random giberish that some non-chinese speaker thinks might mean supermarket, and the BBC didn't both to fact check.<br>2. Against all odds of probability, choosing 'R' 'O' 'o' results in a valid noun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-6933311372776755852007-12-13T21:31:00.000-07:002007-12-13T21:31:00.000-07:00My better half, whose first language is Cantonese,...My better half, whose first language is Cantonese, read it and says it reads "Union" (as in union of people) "walk" (as in protest or demonstration) but that the words are flipped. <br><br>I guess you could say it's a hippie tattoo? ; )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-67634638105211982332007-12-15T02:55:00.000-07:002007-12-15T02:55:00.000-07:00If you look at the chart it flashes in clip toward...If you look at the chart it flashes in clip toward the very end, you discover the origin of the Love hurts, easy money tattoo (恋痛い あぶく銭) posted on this blog a while back.Mattnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-38458421249131426272007-12-15T12:36:00.000-07:002007-12-15T12:36:00.000-07:00It could have been that the characters were picked...It could have been that the characters were picked at random as the hapless tattooee claims, but the combination 联盟 does mean "union," "united" or "alliance" so this seems less than random (although the characters are tatooed in the wrong order).<br><br>The character 行 can also mean "go." Perhaps someone wanted say "Go Union" or "Go United" to express support for a labor union or some sort of sports team named United, but the tattooist tattooed the pidgin Chinese phrase 行联盟 upside down.<br><br>There is a famous soccer team named Manchester United, and the lady has a strong regional English accent. Might she be from Manchester?<br><br>-AlanAlan Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10670697122602993760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-56695831703830273762007-12-15T15:44:42.580-07:002007-12-15T15:44:42.580-07:00I just saw it on FOX news as well, thought that wa...I just saw it on FOX news as well, thought that was funny. They said it means "Supermarket" or "Shop"? I do not read Chinese, I read the kanji in Japanese, and don't even recognize the first two?Demeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260033317254833859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-45607728519130863352007-12-15T21:45:00.000-07:002007-12-15T21:45:00.000-07:00"I do not read Chinese, I read the kanji in J..."I do not read Chinese, I read the kanji in Japanese, and don't even recognize the first two"<br>You must not know many Japanese kanji either then. The second one is common. The first one in Japanese would be written 聯, as in 聯盟, but 連盟 is today more common (same meaning, same pronunciation, though). For example, the League of Nations (precursor to the UN) is 国際連盟.Eyedunnonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-24288667315605542522007-12-16T00:47:00.000-07:002007-12-16T00:47:00.000-07:00I just watched this on Fox News "Red Eye"...I just watched this on Fox News "Red Eye" and thought, firstly, that it was interesting that this would even get any air time at all. And when they showed the clip of this idiot talking, I couldn't help but laugh. I don't know anything about the Chinese language, but this chick was an idiot to think you could simply "spell" out a name in Chinese as you do in English.<br><br>Next question - what language was this chick speaking?Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00088826481014047794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-73194323776526033602007-12-16T15:31:00.000-07:002007-12-16T15:31:00.000-07:00Alan Siegrist, it really does not mean "Go Un...Alan Siegrist, it really does not mean "Go United", or anything like that. The article states that she is from Darlington in County Durham. That's half-way between Newcastle and Yorkshire. She's not from Manchester, though she does have a similarly incomprehensible accent, coupled with a slight speech impediment.<br><br>But hang on a minute, there is further evidence of her stupidity: even if we ignore her ignorance of Chinese (you can't expect everyone to know about these things), she still thought she was getting a tattoo that said "ROo", which is not even correct in English!<br><br>In England, this is the sort of person we call a "chav".David Shortnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-53781291193849178642007-12-16T17:58:00.000-07:002007-12-16T17:58:00.000-07:00In response to David Short - Well, the tattoo cert...In response to David Short - Well, the tattoo certainly does not mean "Supermarket" or "Roo," so I was simply casting about for a possible explanation of its meaning.<br><br>I know that fans or supporters of sports teams like to get tattoos demonstrating their loyalty to the team, so why not get one in Chinese (or faux Chinese)?<br><br>If the "supermarket" explanation came from the young lady herself, that part of her story does not add up, so it reasonably casts doubt on the rest of the story.<br><br>Perhaps she made up the whole sob story to get sympathy for her plight of having unwisely gotten a Chinese tattoo she didn't want.<br><br>Maybe it was supposed to say "Go United" because she or her boyfriend was a United supporter but when the boyfriend left, she thought it would be embarrassing to have a United tattoo given that she is from Darlington.<br><br>Who knows? It all sounds fishy. Maybe she is just trying to put one over on the BBC.<br><br>-AlanAlan Siegristhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10670697122602993760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-84734812273764904912007-12-17T06:13:00.000-07:002007-12-17T06:13:00.000-07:00I didn't really get it until David and Alan ha...I didn't really get it until David and Alan had their back-and-forth there, but yeah, the "Go United" thing is very compelling. After all, it doesn't seem all that likely that she would happen to get a valid (and extremely common) two-character compound (backwards or not) from a makeshift "Asian font."<br><br>Maybe the tattoo artist was "taking the piss," as they say across the pond, since this girl wasn't likely to ever know any better anyway. All that would require would be a preexisting pidgin Chinese "Go United" template and a tattoo artist who really didn't care. Maybe she just forgot that she got what she thought was her boyfriend's team and thought she had gotten his name. Or maybe, as Alan said, she made it up.<br><br>All of these sound more plausible than the "Roo" thing (though my first hypothesis could still overlap with it).<br><br>We need someone who's good at Internet Detective Work here. Maybe someone who can actually figure out how to contact this girl, though I imagine her side of the exchange would be something along the lines of "Cor, teh blooy tatoo geezer done given mne teh wrong bleedin tatoo!"Eyedunnonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-36525388125023586732007-12-18T23:36:00.000-07:002007-12-18T23:36:00.000-07:00as any mancunian will tell you, most people who su...as any mancunian will tell you, most people who support manchester united aren't actually from manchester. it's certainly entirely possible she would have got a pro-united tattoo despite being from darlington.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-73995197673148584572007-12-19T01:22:00.000-07:002007-12-19T01:22:00.000-07:00It does seem rather unlikely that of three charact...It does seem rather unlikely that of three characters picked at random, two could be put together to form a word. However, it's surely not entirely impossible. If the characters making up the "alphabet" chart had been taken from a piece of text containing multiple-character words on a related theme rather than totally at random, wouldn't this increase the odds?<br><br>Anyway, I don't know about elsewhere in the Chinese-speaking world, but in the Chinese "supermarkets" round here (basically just grocery stores and not very big) the naming convention seems to be somethingsomething行 so in that respect it does resemble a "supermarket" name.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-50273905994945432042007-12-21T18:48:00.000-07:002007-12-21T18:48:00.000-07:00getting a tattoo of your significant other is a ba...getting a tattoo of your significant other is a bad idea in the first place, man.E.A. Aleksandroff, alias GThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16609996334529499138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-82643973525403034702007-12-31T03:28:00.000-07:002007-12-31T03:28:00.000-07:00I just know a chinese supermarket in China which i...I just know a chinese supermarket in China which is called 世纪联华, but I don't think there is any relation with the meaning of the tattoo, I don't know why they would say it means supermarket, but once again this is a proof on how many mistakes the media make, and many people believe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-89597147062689130202008-01-01T21:22:00.000-07:002008-01-01T21:22:00.000-07:00联行 means correspondent, according to http://dict.c...联行 means correspondent, according to http://dict.cn/ . but when you check 'correspondent' 联行 doesnt come up. but the two characters sound like they should mean some associative kind of adjective 盟 can mean ally, allied union (欧盟 means EU) but placed at the beginning of this phrase it would modify 联行. which is to say, i dont see how you can make any sense of this.expandingtohigherrealmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06063820172943954414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3919350949272858772.post-10502603176056247952008-01-10T05:21:00.000-07:002008-01-10T05:21:00.000-07:00Perhaps the solution to this enigma is the followi...Perhaps the solution to this enigma is the following: <br>Maybe who ordered the tattoo intended to write 曼联 "man lian" the common name for Manchester United team. For unknown reasons the first character 曼 "man" was confused with "meng" 盟 (in a certain way they can sound similar)<br>and then 行 xing means to walk to go...<br>So the translation should be Go MANCHESTER UNITED, that's to say a chant to support the football team.<br><br>btw congratulations for this blog, very funny :)Bodybag77noreply@blogger.com