19 May 2010

Forbidden Food

This is the sign at the entrance to Tasek Lama Park in BSB:The Malay says: "It is not allowed for any kind of food to be brought into the park."

I'm not quite sure why the Malay version is so explicit while the English is so terse. Does stating it in more words make it more effective in Malay? For the English version, does the succinct nature of the message make it more effective? If so, why would there be this difference?

Or perhaps it is felt that it is best to keep the English version short in case some people do not have very good English.