Chinglish

As this photo demonstrates, the Chinese are well on their way to developing a new dialect of English. It gets its meaning across--but combines phrases that native speakers would never use together because of their conflicting nuance or redundancy.

Beijing Today, an English-language tabloid, runs a column that focuses on examples of Chinglish and provides suggested revisions.

But the prevalence of Chinglish, particularly in outdoor advertising and official signage, makes you wonder whether such efforts will be successful.

It's probably also worth noting that the number of Chinese speakers of English is likely to grow dramatically over the coming decades, and the way they speak the lanaguage could end up being quite influential in a globalized context.

Although English proficiency is relatively rare, there appears to be a broad-based recognition here that English proficiency will be a key factor in how individuals fare in their careers.