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Found mistranslated signs (April 25, 2011) Thread poster: RominaZ
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RominaZ 
Argentina
English to Spanish
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This thread is part of the Translator playground: a place for translators to have fun, to network, to learn, and to hone their translation or linguistic skills. See the announcement here.
Need a quick break from work? In this forum translators and language professionals can share pictures of found mistranslations, comics, images representing translation, etc.
All are welcome to participate and to add new items to this and the other areas of the Translator playground; have fun with it! If you need help or would like to propose an addition to the Translator playground, contact site staff through the online support system.
Have you ever seen translation go wrong in signs, menus, brochures? This is the time to share. Here are some examples:
And remember, next time you spot a mistranslation take a photo and share it here.
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 09:06
English to German
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In memoriam |
| The first sign | Apr 25, 2011 |
Shockingly enough, "how to wash your buttocks" is not a mistranslation. It's a perfectly accurate translation of what is written there, which is presumably the instructions of use for a bidet.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 18:06
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Useless without commentary | Apr 25, 2011 |
RominaZ wrote:
Have you ever seen translation go wrong in signs, menus, brochures?
These images are useless without commentary or explanation of what the translation error is. Sometimes it may actually not be a translation error at all, but simply something which is normal in one culture but strange in the American culture.
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 09:06
English to German
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In memoriam | Not really, IMO | Apr 25, 2011 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
These images are useless without commentary or explanation of what the translation error is. Sometimes it may actually not be a translation error at all, but simply something which is normal in one culture but strange in the American culture.
In regard to the bidet example: Bidets are common in the US, so this has nothing to do with differences in culture. However, nobody would phrase it like that in English...
I hope I understood your concern correctly.
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| Collection of Engrish signs | Apr 26, 2011 |
I love mistranslations (this sounds so wrong in a translators' forum!) and when I need a good laugh, I go to http://www.engrish.com. The titles and captions to the pictures are almost as funny as the pictures themselves. This site never fails to lighten my mood, I highly recommend it
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Dave Bindon
Greece
Local time: 19:06
Greek to English
In memoriam | From a Greek swimming pool: | Apr 26, 2011 |
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Hidden by poster's request |
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| Gambian menu | Apr 26, 2011 |
I've already posted this example in a previous forum, but I'll send it again.
Seen last month on a menu in The Gambia:
"BABA GHANOUCH
Grilled aborigines with tomatoes, parsley and nuts".
Later, we saw some shiny purple aborignes on sale in the vegetable market ...
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: By poster request |
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Ashley Wans
United States
Local time: 09:06
Spanish to English
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Nicole Schnell wrote:
Samuel Murray wrote:
These images are useless without commentary or explanation of what the translation error is. Sometimes it may actually not be a translation error at all, but simply something which is normal in one culture but strange in the American culture.
In regard to the bidet example: Bidets are common in the US, so this has nothing to do with differences in culture. However, nobody would phrase it like that in English...
I hope I understood your concern correctly.
I have lived in the US all my life, and have never come across a bidet. Yes, we know what they are here, but I have never actually seen one in real life.
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| For the fans: | May 3, 2011 |
Check http://www.engrish.com/ for loads and loads more...!
Enjoy.
I just noticed that Daniela recommended the same site! I guess it shows how funny it is (and how I should read previous posts a bit more carefully...).
[Bijgewerkt op 2011-05-03 09:21 GMT]
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roberto bormann
Local time: 17:06
English to Portuguese
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SITE LOCALIZER | It´s simply wrong. | May 6, 2011 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
RominaZ wrote:
Have you ever seen translation go wrong in signs, menus, brochures?
These images are useless without commentary or explanation of what the translation error is. Sometimes it may actually not be a translation error at all, but simply something which is normal in one culture but strange in the American culture.
Well, IMHO, if the translated context seems weird to the target culture reader, I call it wrong translation.
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AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:06
Member (2011)
French to English
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| C'mon Samuel Murray | May 25, 2011 |
Lighten up, these are all plain funny, that's what this forum is about anyway
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