Customer Reviews

Pocket Menu Reader China (Pocket Dictionaries) (Langenscheidt's Pocket Menu Reader)

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I'm astonished this made it into print.
Most worrisome is the inclusion of translated phrases that are simply wrong. Someone was operating on autopilot (or worse!) when this was translated from the original Italian (this volume was originally published under the title "Dizionario del Menu - Cina"). This proves a recipe for either disaster or high comedy: "I would like to change some U.S. dollars," is given both in a kind of "crippled pinyin" and Chinese characters as "Wo yao duihuan Yidali lila," or "I want to exchange Italian lira."
Another significant problem is the lack of tone marks for adequate pronunciation guidance. This will no doubt lull unwary travelers into some remarkable malapropisms. Perhaps the author and Langenscheidt believe that there is not enough humor in the world, and they are doing their bit to correct the shortage. I do feel sorry for the tourists who will be the butts of the jokes, though.
There is also the question of scope. The book purports to be a "Pocket Menu Reader," yet the information therein is really more along the lines of a travelers' language guide. The glossary includes such unlikely restaurant menu vocabulary as "swimming pool," "railroad station," and "monument." Although the Chinese have promoted their own reputation as omnivores, I doubt very much that these items have found their ways onto any restaurant's bill of fare.
There are other errors which need not be enumerated. I guess no-one hires proofreaders anymore...
For the truly curious I recommend James McCauley's "The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters," a much better researched volume truly deserving of your hard-earned cash.
To Langenscheidt I'd have to say that there are many people who have suffered far greater abuse for lesser sins.