Monday, September 22, 2008
Silly Translations - had me ROTFL-ing away!
For the original post, please visit http://www.spanishenglishtranslations.com/Dilects_Humr.html
Intrigued by "machine translation" that is performed by a computer? Check these results when common English expressions were fed to a computer to translate to a foreign language, and then back again to English.
"Out of sight, out of mind" became..."Invisible insane"
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" turned into..."The wine is good, but the meat is spoiled"
A few fun examples of what can happen when translations are performed without regard to the culture of the audience. Enjoy...
Welcome to Our Inn
In a Bucharest hotel lobby: "The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable"
In a Paris hotel elevator: "Please leave your values at the front desk"
In a Yugoslavian hotel: "The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid"
In a Tokyo hotel: "Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read notis"
In a Kyoto hotel: "You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid"
... and this is our fare...
A Swiss menu boasts: "Our wines leave you nothing to hope for"
A Shanghai Mongolian hot pot buffet guarantees: "You will be able to eat all you wish until you are fed up"
An Indian restaurant advises that: "Our establishment serves tea in a bag like mother"
The menu of a Tokyo restaurant offers: "Special cocktails for women with nuts"
A Torremolinos eatery informs: "We highly recommend the hotel tart"
An Acapulco restaurant promises that: "The manager has personally passed all the water served here"
While shopping...
In a Hong Kong supermarket: "For your convenience, we recommend courteous, efficient self-service"
In a Bangkok dry cleaner's: "Drop your trousers here for best results"
Outside a Paris dress shop: "Dresses for street walking"
In a Rhodes tailor shop: "Because is big rush, we will execute customers in strict rotation"
In front of a Madrid travel agency: "Go away"
In the Leningrad airport: "This is Leningrad airport and you are welcome to it"
The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read: "¿Tiene leche?" which also means "Are you lactating?"
The Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."
When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.
Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious pornographic magazine.
An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I Saw the Pope" [el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" [la papa].
Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole", translating into "happiness in the mouth."
Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."
When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant"
When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" [Vuela En Cuero] in Spanish.
Mr. Mick Harper from Channel M of the Canadian Multivision Television (http://www.channelm.ca) contributed these gems:
The Canadian home improvement retail chain “Rona” wanted to run a campaign in Punjabi. Their slogan was “For expert advice and more, count on Rona”. Problem was, in Punjabi the word “Rona” means “crying”. So ‘for expert advice and more, count on crying’ wasn’t exactly the message they wanted to get across. The Punjabi campaign was cancelled.
In the 1970s, General Motors had a great deal of success with its muscle car, the Chevrolet Nova. They decided to start producing and selling these cars in Mexico. But ‘no’ and ‘va’ translated into Spanish means ‘doesn’t go’.
Buick also offers its “Lacrosse” SUV in Canada, where “Lacrosse” is the national sport (although hockey may be the country’s national favourite pastime). But in the French-speaking province of Quebec, the word lacrosse can also be a slang word for ‘masturbating’. We’re not sure if lacrosse is still the national sport of Quebec, but one thing’s for sure… the Buick Lacrosse is not available there.
A cocktail lounge in Norway declares:
"LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR"
A Nairobi restaurant invites:
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER
A hotel in Moscow located nearby an Orthodox monastery encourages:
VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.
In Hong Kong, a dentist promises:
TEETH EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS
A laundry in Rome offers:
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME
A tourist agency in Czechoslovakia reassures:
TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS. WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES.
Donkey rides in Thailand allow certain options:
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?
fon @ 10:34 AM link to post * *