The Taipei City Transportation Department is declaring war on bad English.
In an effort to create an "English-friendly" environment in Taipei, the department is inviting people to correct mistakes or poor use of English on the city's street signs and in official publications.
The English error-finding activity is the latest in a series of events designed to promote public participation in the city government's English program.
The department said that the activity was directed primarily at the English content of bilingual signs, including street signs and the various information plaques at the city's major attractions.
Residents are encouraged to find spelling mistakes, incorrect word choices, errors in word order, incorrect translations or grammatical blunders in the signs.
submission
Participants can submit their findings by filling out a form on the department's Web site and sending their findings by e-mail, fax or post to the department.
The form, dubbed "Identifying Errors in English of Traffic Engineering Office Publications," is available at the department's Web site (www.bote.taipei.gov.tw/activity/activity_plan_en.asp). The Web site contains detailed instructions in Chinese and English.
People who spot three or more English errors between now and June 30 will receive awards from the department, ranging from knapsacks to official Traffic Engineering Office hats.
winners
The winners will be announced on July 31 on the department's Web site.
In the event that two or more different entries are submitted for the same error, only the earliest submission to the department would be accepted, the department said.
Submissions about bilingual signs in public areas that are not under the department's jurisdiction and for notices of central governmental agencies and other civilian organizations would be forwarded to the institutions involved, it said.
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