Who writes this stuff?
As part of making this blog reasonably accurate and newsy, I gather information. Tourist Offices usually have free maps and at least some brochures in English. Tourist destinations often have plaques with explanations. I photograph the lengthy ones and take notes from the others. I never seem to have a scrap of paper, so I often scribble cryptic messages on the palm of my hand. You’d be surprised how much you can fit on one hand. (Note to self: Wash hands AFTER recording the details elsewhere.)
Love is alive in Leipzig, Germany.
Some brochures and signs are sprinkled with amusing pigeon English and misspellings, and others are letter-perfect. Some have been engineered by a new-age marketing guru who is determined to deliver the news in gibberish. I won’t name names, but here’s an excerpt from a brochure I was taking notes from today.
‘The architect met these challenges by brilliantly anchoring the main body of the museum in the architectural language of the present day. The resplendent richness of ArchitectA’s late classicism and historicism is now brought into a charming dialogue with ArchitectB’s own strict language of forms.
For heaven’s sake, what rubbish! ‘Architectural language’ and ‘charming dialogue’. Spare me!
But I love this sign posted outside the Thomas Church in Leipzig. Clever and stylish — and a charming dialogue to boot! If you can’t see the added sketch, click on the picture to enlarge it. 🙂
Where to next? 
Hi Peggy,
As a fellow editor, I find that whole paragraph appalling. ‘Anchoring the main body…’, ‘resplendent richness’, ‘late classicism and hitoricism’, ‘strict language of forms’. Spare all of us!
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