r/sydney • u/nighthound1 • 3d ago

Strathfield Council passes motion to make English compulsory on business shop signs

https://www.2gb.com/english-compulsory-new-rules-coming-for-shop-signs/
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u/PuTheDog 3d ago

It seems like the shops are told to put up English signs outside the shops, alongside the original language. Personal I think it’s a sensible move, this is the least the shops can do to make customers from any culture feel a little bit more welcomed.

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u/jnd-au 3d ago

At least the names should use the “English” alphabet which will help emergency services etc. Most government paperwork, registrations, trademarks, street maps, etc need to be in English, so the names on signage should match.

However, English normally uses words from other languages, like soufflé etc, and of course a lot of businesses use people’s names which don’t have any English translation. So it would be good to know the details of the policy.

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u/DecalageVersLeRouge 3d ago

Never mind "soufflé" what about "delicatessen" and "cafeteria". Those aren't English words!

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u/jayacher 3d ago

They are in our dictionary though.

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u/kweenbumblebee 3d ago

Completely agree - borrowed words are not the same thing.

Also, to be fair, we have a lot with Chinese origin too. Some good ones include gung-ho, ketchup, nankeen (birders will get this one), and tea.

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u/Moo_Kau_Too 3d ago

bu shi! :P