Blind Idiot Translation/Real Life: Difference between revisions

* According to [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7899171.stm this story,] many Irish police stopping Polish motorists for driving infractions were reading ''the wrong part of the driving licence'' when taking their details. This came to light when it emerged that [http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prawo_jazdy Prawo Jazdy] (Polish for "driver's license") was the most wanted driver in Ireland.

* When Bic went to Latin America, it thought that the word "embarazar" meant "to embarass." So, the billboards told you that "this pen won't leak in your pocket and get you pregnant."

** According to [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005195.html this blog entry], "Most of us, however, have all along suspected that this phenomenon resulted from reliance on faulty translation software. Indeed, it is easy to prove that absurd English translations are being spewed out daily in China when individuals who don't know English merely plug Chinese sentences into the software and expect it to come up with reasonable renditions." A bug in one particular translation program has caused the word "fuck" to appear on shop signs and restaurant menus, etc.

** [[Even Evil Has Standards|The government of China]] has [http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/19/olympic.dishes/index.html released an official list of food name translations] in the hope of stopping this problem for the Olympics. (It also appears that [http://www.for68.com/new/2008/6/li8655365544181680024816-0.htm the list is online], in Chinese.)

*** This is simply not true. "Ich bin ein Berliner" is supposed to invoke an "I am one of you" feeling - "ein" even means "one" in a case of [[Lucky Translation]]. Adding "ein" is done to emphasize one's (!) status as an individuum.

*** Indeed. Otherwise he couldn't even say he is an American, since there is also a pastry called "Amerikaner" (the black and white cookie).

** The Chinese word does mean literally "propaganda board", as there is no negative connotation associated with the word "propaganda" in China.

* In a translation of a hymn about John the Revelator, who wrote the Book of The Seven Seals, 'seal' was translated using the 'aquatic pinniped mammal' meaning.

* Students of the Latin Language, once they have gotten to the point where they can begin to piece together reasonably correct sentences, graduate from [[Translation Train Wreck]] to this normally partway through their second year. With improper and incomplete knowledge of grammatical structures, the results are often more or less fine in English, but rather atrocious in Latin. For example, the sentence: Since I feel that I am not afraid of the kind of man who would pet a kitten, is correctly written as Cum sentio ut vereor homi qui palparet cattulam. Without knowledge of subjunctive, cum clauses, and characteristic clauses, such a student would write: Quoniam non timeor gentis viri quem sit tactet felecem. Unfortunately, this means: "Since (as in time) not afraid I am of the race of man whom he would be touches cat."

* Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson and James May explored the workings of the world's first automobiles and were very confused by an instruction sheet translated from French. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bvk5U4RUGs&feature=related See here starting at 3:09]

** In Italian, "neve" (snow) is also a slang word for cocaine, so if the botched French translation was translated into Italian, you would get a label that defines the snow pusher as a cocaine seller.

* The United States government did this recently when dealing with the Russian government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hands something to the Russian official and even says "We worked hard to find the right Russian word", just before the official points at one of the words and says "That's the wrong word." [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Hillarity]] [[Hilarity Ensues|Ensues]]. (Hillary's face was a mixture of [[Oh Crap]] and trying not to laugh)

* In Canada, all merchandise is legally required to have its label in both English and French. Needless to say, this occasionally leads to some... interesting results.

* A [[Paul Harvey]] story recounts the experience by two Americans visiting Poland. Before leaving the hotel to explore the city, they were smart enough to write down the words on the sign in front of the hotel in case they got lost and needed to ask for directions. After wandering around the city for a while and got lost. To get some help, they stopped random people on the streets and showed them the writing. No one was able to help them until they found someone who spoke English. They showed the paper to the English-speaking person who read it, then said, "Lots of hotels say 'no vacancy' on their signs."

* Cuba's Bay of Pigs (Bahia de Cochinos) doesn't actually refer to pigs, but to [[wikipedia:Balistes vetula|queen triggerfish]]. "Cochino" can also translate as "pig" in Spanish, though it's often used as an adjective (i.e. "piggish"). "Cerdo" or "puerco" is usually used for the noun.

* Some Portuguese dishes names are also untranslatable. But as restaurant owners like to have "fancier" menus, you might come across some delicious "You covers" ("Tapas" is also the form of the verd "tapar" (cover) in the 2nd person of the singular) among others.