A Different Way to Make Your Point

There is certainly a different style for non-native English speakers to get their point across. For example, we recently received this month’s newsletter from our community. Apparently, they are having a problem with pet waste around the compound. If this were happening in the U.S., the point might be something like this:

“Just a reminder to the pet owners, you are responsible for your animal when they are in the common areas. This includes collecting pet waste and keeping your animal on a leash at all times. This will keep the area around the complex beautiful and safe for all patrons.”

By contrast, our reminder here in China was:

“In order to keep a good environment of the compound and safety of the other residents, please dispose of your pet’s poo immediately and make sure they’re lashed while you walking your pets for the purpose of the prevention of any unexpected situations.”

The lashed versus leashed is an obvious typo, but the reference to “poo” was curious. We must admit, we did expect to hear the word “poo” this year, but we figured it would come home in Juliet’s new “kindergarten vocabulary” not in the compound newsletter.