| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Funny spelling or usage mistakes Thread poster: veratek
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veratek
Brazil
Local time: 16:15
French to English
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Why not start our own list of funny spelling or usage mistakes we come across?
1) This is a really bazaar story. (comment to a news scandal)
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A colleague of mine nearly made a mistake in German recently:
Instead of "Alle Benutzer werden über ... geschaltet" (all users will be connected over...) he wrote "Alle Benutzer werden geschlachtet" (all users will be slaughtered).
A Freudian slip maybe? Luckily, he was careful enough to spot his typo with possible fatal consequences immediately.
[Upraveno: 2011-06-20 21:34 GMT]
| | | | | Market or garden? | Jun 20, 2011 |
The 'bazaar story", bizarre or not, may have been heard in the market!
Every language has its own peculiarities, not all of them well known (well-known) even to native speakers.
The Swedes sometimes make a wrong choice of words such as;
kvalitet, kvalité
vilrum, vilorum
Vital rules for a translator:
Never guess
Never be too sure
| | | | veratek
Brazil
Local time: 16:15
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER
George Hopkins wrote:
The 'bazaar story", bizarre or not, may have been heard in the market!
I hope you were trying to make a silly joke here...
because the story was not heard in the market, nor does it have anything to do with a market
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LEXpert 
United States
Local time: 14:15
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
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| As in life, beware of false friends... | Jun 20, 2011 |
prokurist => procurer (!?)
This incorrect translation on a company's standard contract had been in use for quite a while before I ever came across it. Apparently, in all that time the prokurist had never objected to being called a panderer!
| | | | | Dear veratek, | Jun 20, 2011 |
I was definitely not being silly. Don't take yourself too seriously.
| | | | | Re Rudolf's contribution | Jun 20, 2011 |
Beware of words that are similar in two languages.
The example given by Rudolf, if considered in English and Swedish, can be bewildering to say the least.
The Swedish word prokurist in English means holder of procuration or managing clerk; usually very respectable.
The English word procurer in Swedish means kopplare (ie, pimp, or if working for the railway a coupler or shunter) or anskaffare (ie, someone who procures, obtains, buys, acquires, provides). ... See more Beware of words that are similar in two languages.
The example given by Rudolf, if considered in English and Swedish, can be bewildering to say the least.
The Swedish word prokurist in English means holder of procuration or managing clerk; usually very respectable.
The English word procurer in Swedish means kopplare (ie, pimp, or if working for the railway a coupler or shunter) or anskaffare (ie, someone who procures, obtains, buys, acquires, provides).
Translating is a tricky business. ▲ Collapse
| | | | 4leavedClover
Bulgaria
Local time: 22:15
English to Bulgarian
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| Silly but funny: | Jun 20, 2011 |
One of my favourite ones - 'swimming poop' instead of 'swimming pool'. (Especially if you read that in a hotel advertisement).
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David Wright
Austria
Local time: 21:15
German to English
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| Just use DNS | Jun 20, 2011 |
my Naturally Speaking comes up with good ones almost every paragraph. In particular the Cour de cassation (I leave in French as requested by client) frequently comes up as Cour de castration.
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David Wright wrote:
my Naturally Speaking comes up with good ones almost every paragraph. In particular the Cour de cassation (I leave in French as requested by client) frequently comes up as Cour de castration.
This one's really painful!
| | | | Marina Aleyeva
Israel
Local time: 22:15
Member (2006)
English to Russian
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"Tomarrow" is definately one of my faverites.
| | | | veratek
Brazil
Local time: 16:15
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
George Hopkins wrote:
I was definitely not being silly. Don't take yourself too seriously.
May I suggest the same. Don't take yourself and your "bazaar" theories too seriously, it sounds totally ridiculous, but it's just how it sounds...
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| | veratek
Brazil
Local time: 16:15
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER
thanks, this one is hilarious, the Egyptian LOL
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 21:15
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| Diacritics in my language | Jun 21, 2011 |
Omitting diacritics in my language, which people often do using English keyboard patterns, can cause a lot of bizarre and funny distortion of word meaning, e.g.
koža (skin, n.) , koza (goat, n.)
pisati ( to write, v.), pišati ( to piss, v.)
šišati ( to cut hair, v.), sisati ( to suck, v.)
etc.
I see some translators here omitting diacritics when typing, which I find quite unacceptable. Especially because ProZ boards support all... See more Omitting diacritics in my language, which people often do using English keyboard patterns, can cause a lot of bizarre and funny distortion of word meaning, e.g.
koža (skin, n.) , koza (goat, n.)
pisati ( to write, v.), pišati ( to piss, v.)
šišati ( to cut hair, v.), sisati ( to suck, v.)
etc.
I see some translators here omitting diacritics when typing, which I find quite unacceptable. Especially because ProZ boards support all sorts of letter formats, which is logical them being translation boards. ▲ Collapse
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