Both nations' names are written similarly in Mandarin - Ruidian (Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland). The two European nations - one known for its chocolate, cheese and watches; the other for Ikea, Volvo and the Seventies pop band Abba - have often been confused for each other among the Chinese. The problem largely stems from the fact that both nations' names are written similarly in Mandarin - Ruidian (Sweden) and Ruishi (Switzerland) – which begin with the same symbol, according to the Swedish Consul General Victoria Li in China. In an effort to put an end to the mix-up, the Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai have launched a competition on the Swedish Consulate website, asking Chinese people to come up with funny ways to help differentiate the two countries. Submissions can be accepted as a blog post, cartoon, photo, short film or in any other format. The winner with the best submission will receive a 12-day trip to Sweden and Switzerland and will be expected to report back on their impressions of both countries following the trip, the website states. Entries will be accepted until November 20. The organisers have also devised a humorous campaign logo portraying a montage of objects and people associated with Sweden and Switzerland on separate maps of each country. Sweden’s map features meatballs, a Viking, Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren’s books, as well as two male cartoon figures with a heart between them symbolising gay marriage, which remains illegal in Switzerland. Switzerland's map features cheese, fondue, the Alps and a picture of Roger Federer. China may not be the only country struggling to tell Sweden and Switzerland apart. Residents of Spanish-speaking countries also fall victim to the confusion as Sweden is spelt ‘Suecia’ in Spanish while Switzerland is called ‘Suiza’. Sweden and Switzerland aren't the only destinations that have caused confusion among travellers. Last month, a British holidaymaker hoped to explore the architecture of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, but instead mistakenly caught a flight across the Atlantic to the tropical Caribbean island of Grenada following a confusing booking blunder. Earlier this summer, two US holidaymakers were flown to the wrong continent after an airline confused two airport codes. The misconception between Sweden and Switzerland isn't the only incident for which Chinese tourists have recently come under the light. Last month, Communist Party tourism chiefs issued a “Guidebook for Civilised Tourism”urging first-time Chinese travellers to cut back on poor behaviour including public displays of nose-picking, swimming pool-soiling and the discussion of pork in a bid to improve the country’s image overseas. China was the biggest spender in international tourism last year, overtaking Italy, Japan, France and Britain, and is the world's fastest-growing tourism source market, according to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organization earlier this year. |
在普通話中,這兩個國家名字寫起來有點相似——瑞典(Ruidian)和瑞士(Ruishi)。
據(jù)瑞典駐上海總領事維多利亞(Victory Li)女士說,造成這一問題的很大原因在于這兩個國家的名字在中國普通話中寫起來有點相似——瑞典(Sweden)和瑞士(Switzerland),他們的第一個字相同。 為了終止這一混淆,瑞典駐上海領事館近日攜手瑞士駐上海領事館在瑞典領事館網(wǎng)站上啟動了一項創(chuàng)意比賽,邀請中國人民以新穎幽默的方式正確區(qū)別出這兩個國家。表現(xiàn)形式不限,可以是一篇文章、一幅畫、一組照片或一部短片,也可以是其他任何形式。
但是,中國并不是唯一一個會把瑞典和瑞士搞混的國家。講西班牙語的國家的民眾也經常混淆,他們常把瑞典拼成瑞士,而把瑞士拼成瑞典。
(譯者 godness 編輯 丹妮) |