- There’s no shortage of inappropriate and awkward English on adult clothing
- Context matters
- Children usually don’t have that choice
- Awkward English on children’s clothing is one thing, but what about when it goes further?
- Thus far, the examples of awkward English on children’s clothing have been innocent…
- And now we get into the worst awkward English on children’s clothing
- What about when awkward English on children’s clothing becomes definitely inappropriate?
- The inspiration behind this post
- I can’t afford a proofreader—it’s too expensive
As evidenced by my daily posts over the past 4 1/2 years, there’s no shortage of awkward English in Korea. My 1,600+ posts have highlighted awkward English on signs, menus, products, and clothing. Awkward English on clothing is nothing new. But awkward English on children’s clothing carries another dimension—appropriateness.
When a child wears clothing with awkward, or worse, inappropriate English on it, who’s at fault? Children don’t always choose their clothing. And when Korean children do, they likely don’t understand the English on it. But what happens when their parents, or the clothing companies, don’t know what it means?
There’s no shortage of inappropriate and awkward English on adult clothing
For years, I’ve highlighted several examples of awkward English on adult clothing.
At first glance, this could easily be mistaken for the McDonald’s logo, with the slogan, “I’m loving it!” Perhaps it suggests that this young woman is loving the way she looks thanks to her workout regimen. But please take a closer look—that doesn’t say McDonald’s. I’m not sure how this came about, but it was from an actual gym advertisement. I’d love to know whether this was intentional.
As I’ve written about before, not knowing the nuance of a language can be problematic. While the f-word is ubiquitous in English movies and TV shows, it’s not always acceptable to use it. I previously wrote about how DJ Soda got in trouble for wearing some clothing with profanity on it. She (wrongly) assumed it was okay because a sponsor provided the clothing.
Context matters
What’s the issue with wearing the jacket below in public? In a word—kids. While you may be okay with profanity (I haven’t got a problem with it), some people might not be. And when you go out in public like this, children are exposed to it. We have child locks on phones, YouTube, and set-top boxes for a reason. There’s a time and place for profanity. As a teacher, I didn’t use it in the classroom. It’s generally not acceptable in public—in spoken or written form.
Whatever your beliefs, I have to believe the person wearing this jacket knows what it says. They may not know the nuance, but they know it’s profanity. I wonder if the same person would wear a jacket with 꺼져,씨발, or 엿 먹어라 on it.
But adults make these choices. Either they
- Decide to wear the clothing knowing what it says.
- Choose to remain ignorant of what the English means, and wear it regardless.
Either way, it’s their choice.
Children usually don’t have that choice
Hunt is a clothing brand in Korea. In some contexts, the word “hunt” as a brand name could work (hunting for a deal, hunting for the right look). But they should’ve consulted someone like DC CopyPro before deciding to adopt a children’s line.
Many of the examples of awkward English on children’s clothing are similar to what I post about daily. They consist of spelling mistakes, poor grammar, or just plain incorrect English.
I can only assume this is a knockoff. I can’t imagine the licensed clothing manufacturer made this error.
There are several issues with grammatically incorrect English on clothing. One of the biggest is that it could confuse children learning English. How hard would it have been to write this correctly? How much do I like candy?
Again, I don’t see the point of this. But I also don’t know why they couldn’t have gotten it grammatically correct. Running makes me tall (though I’m not sure there’s any proof of that).
Awkward English on children’s clothing is one thing, but what about when it goes further?
Many of the examples of awkward English on children’s clothing are simply that—awkward. Or sometimes they’re plain gibberish. While I’m familiar with the expression “Dressed to kill,” I have no idea what this could mean.
This is grammatically correct (except for the capitalization). But I’m not sure it’s appropriate for a child to wear. It’s pretty rude, and if children adopt this phrase into their lexicon, it could be problematic later.
More random, awkward English on children’s clothing. You can read my Instagram post on what I was able to dig up on this. I’m not a fan of dressing kids in clothing that says something the parents don’t understand.
Sometimes it seems like gibberish because it’s taken out of context. I took this picture years ago. It was before I started posting about awkward English on children’s clothing and elsewhere. It just seemed so random to me. When I decided to post about it, I learned it was related to a Peanuts cartoon. To the best of my knowledge, this cartoon isn’t particularly well known, nor is the saying widely used. Why someone chose to put it on a T-shirt baffles me.
It would appear that Peanuts is more popular in Korea than I would’ve guessed. I just wish checking with a qualified English proofreader were just as popular.
Thus far, the examples of awkward English on children’s clothing have been innocent…
Most of my examples thus far have been perhaps amusing or mildly annoying. Now we enter areas where awkward English on children’s clothing stops being funny. We’re going to look at examples that cross a line. I can’t imagine any parents would’ve let their children wear this clothing if they’d known what it said.
Marijuana (i.e., weed) is very much illegal in Korea. Would you send your child out wearing this shirt? One that suggests that a good friend is one who shares their marijuana with friends? This can’t be considered good parenting. Marijuana has been legalized in countries like Canada. I’m guessing school authorities in Canada would have an issue with a child wearing this shirt.
It rhymes, so it must be cute, right? I’m not sure who thought that Peepin & Creepin was a good name for a clothing label, especially a children’s one. Peepin’ is slang for looking at someone slyly, i.e., checking someone out. Creepin’ means flirting with someone. As a children’s clothing brand, the “ick-factor” is off the charts for me.
I’d enjoy the looks I’d get from wearing clothing emblazoned with “Fresh Bullshit served daily” on it. But I wouldn’t dress my child in such attire.
And now we get into the worst awkward English on children’s clothing
These final examples go from being “awkward” or “questionable” to being “totally inappropriate.” I’d go so far as to say dressing your children in clothing like this borders on bad parenting.
The word “lover” on its own generally means a sexual partner. You can be a music lover, but in this case, it would be interpreted as a sexual partner. While somewhat random, I think we can all agree that this is not appropriate for a child to wear.
What about when awkward English on children’s clothing becomes definitely inappropriate?
An adult wearing this could be seen as being flirty or fun. A child? Creepy. Just plain creepy. The intention “may” have been the grammatically incorrect “Do you wanna fun?” (with the line through the K). But that’s still creepy. Imagine a young teen wearing this shirt around adults? Ick.
It might seem cute and fun because it rhymes. But I wonder what the parents of this little girl would think if they knew what this meant. Basically, it’s inviting strangers to honk their horns at their daughter if they’d like to have sex.
I’m not sure if this t-shirt is meant for children. Depending on the age of the “teen” wearing it, it’s likely inappropriate—and would be for adults in most settings as well. Consider how people react to the C-word, even in England, where it’s more common. This shirt is likely inappropriate in almost all settings.
Based on the size of this top, it’s hard to determine whether it’s children’s clothing or a top for a woman. There’s a problem in addition to the incorrect use of an apostrophe. Again, it’s likely inappropriate for children or adults to wear it in most situations.
There is no mistake here that this is a child wearing this top. I did some research on this t-shirt for my Instagram post. I learned that Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. I’m not sure whether she designed this top. But either way, I think we can all agree, this is inappropriate for a child to wear.
The inspiration behind this post
The reason for this post about awkward English on children’s clothing came from a news story a few weeks ago. No fewer than four different friends and followers shared the story with me. I love that people think of me when they see stuff like this. I also love that they take the time to share these things with me—thank you all!
A popular children’s clothing brand had a very inappropriate offering on its site. It featured a rabbit with its head sticking out of the top of a large sock with the words “come inside me!” (picture available here). For those still puzzled by why this is an issue, the phrase could be interpreted as, “Ejaculate inside of me.”
As per the article in the Korea Herald, the designer responsible for the top, Lee Cha-yoon, stated:
I failed to realize that the phrase could be perceived as inappropriate. I should have exercised greater caution, especially because the product was intended for children.
Duh! Why do you think I rant and rave about this in my daily posts? When you aren’t familiar with the language, you run the risk of mistakes like this. As I’ve often said, I don’t expect Koreans who make these mistakes to be aware of every slang term in English. Nor should they be able to pick up on double entendres in certain phrases.
BUT…
That’s why I stress the importance of checking with a qualified, native English-speaking proofreader. It doesn’t matter how little English you plan on using. If asked, I would’ve forcefully explained why this design could never go to market.
I can’t afford a proofreader—it’s too expensive
I have no way of knowing the extent of the damage to this brand and its reputation, but I’m sure it’s had an adverse effect. They had to offer refunds to anyone who purchased this item. Several negative news stories were published about this incident. The company published an apology on its website. It certainly didn’t have a positive effect.
And again, this all could’ve been avoided with a quick check. This is the kind of thing I offer to help with for free. If the company had wanted me to review several items, I may have had to charge a small fee. But I guarantee my fee would’ve been much less than the damages resulting from this error.
And again, you can’t beat free, right? When you need help, please get in touch. If it’s a simple question, I can likely help for free. If you have more than a simple question or more than a short line of copy, I’ll give you a quote for my services. I guarantee my fee will be much less than the damages from inadvertently using offensive language on your sign, product, or clothing.
Have you got an example of awkward English on children’s clothing? Or perhaps something random on adult clothing? Please share it with me—there’s a very good chance I’ll feature it in one of my posts!
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