Say What?? Travel Photo: Closed
Throughout Southeast Asia there is one ubiquitous sign that can be spotted nearly everywhere:
No, not “Lao Food” (though this photo is from the Lao capital of Vientiane). “Close.” That’s not to say that you are close to the restaurant. No, no. The restaurant is Closed.
This can’t solely be blamed on some translation faux pas. When you think about it, you realize that “Closed” is one of those words in the English-language that just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I mean, once a restaurant has opened, it’s Open. So then why once a restaurant has closed is it still Closed?
Both Opened and Closed are past tense. Both the present and future tenses of Opened are Open, yet only the future tense of Closed is to Close. But Closed has no present tense… How much sense does that make?