IN A heated debate with many echoes for any Singaporean, the value of 'Chinglish' is being fiercely disputed in China.

Some voices - including that of an academic doing the first known PhD on the subject - argue that the colloquial mix of Chinese and English, most often seen in wacky signs such as that pointing to a 'Deformed Man Toilet', is a cultural treasure. Others insist it is an insult to the English tongue.

'Chinglish should be regarded with pride,' said German sinologist Oliver Radtke, who has collected more than 5,000 such language specimens on his website, www.chinglish.de, and published two books on the subject.

'It's enriching an existing language, offering a new point of view, a new set of vocabulary and new usages.'

Explaining his attempt to do a PhD in Chinglish, the Beijing resident also said that Chinglish is 'a window into how Chinese people think'.

Rallying the forces who disparage Chinglish is American academic David Tool, a member of the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages (BSFL) committee who has helped the Beijing government fix baffling Chinese- English signs since 2001.

The professor at Beijing International Studies University doesn't condemn all Chinese- English phrases. For instance, 'no nearing' - the Chinglish equivalent of 'stay back' - is acceptable to him, as he calls it at least as clear and concise as standard English.

But Professor Tool called the cultural-treasure argument 'basically nonsense', insisting Chinglish too often detracts from foreigners' understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture.

However, Mr Radtke argued that the use of Chinglish does precisely the opposite, by grabbing a foreigner's attention.

'How often do you remember the content of a museum a day after you left it?' he asked.

'The whole pedagogical approach is usually pretty dull...so isn't it great to remember something from that day?'

He cited the example of a sign for 'the former address of the emperor's toilet' at the imperial summer palace in Chengde in Hebei province. Visitors are perhaps likelier to remember the spot because of the striking use of the English words, he claimed.

However, according to BSFL co-ordinator Yu Yanni, Chinglish 'might distract foreigners, causing them to pay too much attention to the Chinglish and not enough to exhibitions or anything else'.

There is also nothing charming, the enemies of Chinglish pointed out, about the way examples of it come about.

Translator Zheng Yuantao, who documents Chinglish as a hobby, said part of the problem was that most in his profession are underpaid. He said that 'when you don't offer enough to hire talented people', it's no surprise the Chinglish 'produced by under-qualified translators' is painful.

Prof Tool went as far as to say that incomprehensible Chinglish shows disrespect for foreigners.

But University of Pennsylvania professor of Chinese language and literature Victor Mair, who includes Chinglish in class, said it is probably only native English-speakers who 'do not know any Chinese' who feel insulted or - totally amused'.

'The more Chinese one knows, the more tolerant and even appreciative of Chinglish one usually is, because one understands how and why the Chinglish usages arise,' he said.