Jenglish

English

Alternative forms

• Jinglish

Etymology

Blend of Japanese +‎ English; compare Singlish, Yinglish, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɪŋɡlɪʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋɡlɪʃ

Noun

Jenglish (uncountable)

1. Japanese-influenced English, especially when nonstandard or ungrammatical.
   • 1997, James W. Rinehart, Christopher Huxley & David Robertson, Just Another Car Factory?: Lean Production and Its Discontents

     That this company is half Japanese-owned is obvious. Japanese words spelled out in English (what someone referred to as “Jenglish”) are used and posted throughout the plant.

   • 1998, Robert Brenner & Gregory Capelo, VCR Troubleshooting & Repair

     Since many VCRs are designed and built in Japan, a mixture of Japanese-to-English writing style sometimes called “Japanenglish” or “Jenglish” is often found in much documentation. This makes some of the expressions difficult to understand.

   • 1999, Dan in Japan: jenglish (website)

     What is Jenglish (pronounced jing-lish)? It's all of the funny English in Japan that you see on signs, books, T-shirts, vending machines... it's everywhere. ... it doesn't quite have that "native English speaker" nuance.

   • 2001, Nancy Brown Diggs, Looking Beyond the Mask: When American Women Marry Japanese Men

     She also thinks that “being so close to the culture has ruined my English. I have had to choose easier words, shorter sentences, ... We call it ‘Jinglish,’ Japanese-English.”

Synonyms

• Janglish
• Engrish