Either World Domination or Something About Bananas: Difference between revisions

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== Comics ==
== Comics ==
* In ''[http://disneycomics.free.fr/Ducks/Rosa/show.php?loc=AR143 The Curse of Nostrildamus]'' by [[Don Rosa]], Donald Duck and Scrooge finds the tomb of the eponymous seer and Donald tries to translate the text written on the grave:
* In ''[http://disneycomics.free.fr/Ducks/Rosa/show.php?loc=AR143 The Curse of Nostrildamus]'' by [[Don Rosa]], Donald Duck and Scrooge finds the tomb of the eponymous seer and Donald tries to translate the text written on the grave:
{{quote|'''Donald''':: It says "thank you for the plastic monkeys".
{{quote|'''Donald''':: It says "thank you for the plastic monkeys".
'''Scrooge''':: Try again.
'''Scrooge''':: Try again.
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* ''[[Finding Nemo]]'': "He either said to move to the back of the throat, or he wants a root beer float."
* ''[[Finding Nemo]]'': "He either said to move to the back of the throat, or he wants a root beer float."
** Of course, the whale is speaking the same language as the protagonists, just longer and gurgley-er. So much so that you probably won't notice it the first time you watch the film.
** Of course, the whale is speaking the same language as the protagonists, just longer and gurgley-er. So much so that you probably won't notice it the first time you watch the film.
* ''[[The Hallelujah Trail]]:'' The cavalry's sign language interpreter usually gets the gist of what's being said, but he makes a few ''critical'' errors.
* ''[[The Hallelujah Trail]]:'' The cavalry's sign language interpreter usually gets the gist of what's being said, but he makes a few ''critical'' errors.




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*** [http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/homophones.htm Way too many examples]
*** [http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/homophones.htm Way too many examples]
*** It gets even worse when you consider that, like the difference between British English and American English, Canadian French has its own variations that differ from the French spoken in France. A notable example is the informal term "gosses," which means "children" in Europe but "testicles" in Canada.
*** It gets even worse when you consider that, like the difference between British English and American English, Canadian French has its own variations that differ from the French spoken in France. A notable example is the informal term "gosses," which means "children" in Europe but "testicles" in Canada.
*** Another example from Canadian French is the first time someone learning French, and thus learning about the nasal-''n'' at the end of words orders a "poutine", and forgets the ''e'' in "-ine" means the ''n'' is not nasal, so they'll use a nasal-n...which inevitably comes out sounding like they ordered a ''putain'', a prostitute.
*** Another example from Canadian French is the first time someone learning French, and thus learning about the nasal-''n'' at the end of words orders a "poutine", and forgets the ''e'' in "-ine" means the ''n'' is not nasal, so they'll use a nasal-n...which inevitably comes out sounding like they ordered a ''putain'', a prostitute.
**** UNLESS you're in Quebec, where the alternate meanings to "poutine" are either the local french fries in gravy and cheese dish OR roughly hewn pieces of lumber that lumberjacks used to float down the river towards the lumber mill. The prostitute meaning wouldn't even be considered because to a french canadian "poutine" and "putain" are two separate pronunciations.
**** UNLESS you're in Quebec, where the alternate meanings to "poutine" are either the local french fries in gravy and cheese dish OR roughly hewn pieces of lumber that lumberjacks used to float down the river towards the lumber mill. The prostitute meaning wouldn't even be considered because to a french canadian "poutine" and "putain" are two separate pronunciations.
*** The various meanings of these words aside, this has led to some hilarity in the translation of the name of Russian leader [[Vladimir Putin]]. You see, pronouncing the word spelled "P-u-t-i-n" according to French rules produces a word pronounced ''exactly'' like ''putain'' (again, "prostitute"). As a result, the French Academy decided to spell his name "Poutine", which produces a similar ''pronunciation'' to the Russian "Путин"...only to realize, too late, that this official transcription now made French-Canadians think of delicious fries with curds and gravy every time they saw or heard the name of the leader of a major world power. To rub salt on the wound, word got out to English Canada and to the border regions with the United States (which are familiar with the dish), which all had a good laugh at the ''Academie's'' expense; word got out even farther when William Safire dedicated a disapproving "On Language" column in ''The New York Times'' to the subject in 2005. Even funnier--Rick Mercer (an Anglophone Newfie) had, in a brilliant prank, convinced then-candidate [[George W. Bush]] that the [[Canadian Politics|Canadian PM]] of the time (c. 2000) was a person by the name of "Jean Poutine" (rather than the actual Jean Chretien). And now "Vladimir Poutine" is President/PM/President of Russia. Presumably, they're cousins...
*** The various meanings of these words aside, this has led to some hilarity in the translation of the name of Russian leader [[Vladimir Putin]]. You see, pronouncing the word spelled "P-u-t-i-n" according to French rules produces a word pronounced ''exactly'' like ''putain'' (again, "prostitute"). As a result, the French Academy decided to spell his name "Poutine", which produces a similar ''pronunciation'' to the Russian "Путин"...only to realize, too late, that this official transcription now made French-Canadians think of delicious fries with curds and gravy every time they saw or heard the name of the leader of a major world power. To rub salt on the wound, word got out to English Canada and to the border regions with the United States (which are familiar with the dish), which all had a good laugh at the ''Academie's'' expense; word got out even farther when William Safire dedicated a disapproving "On Language" column in ''The New York Times'' to the subject in 2005. Even funnier--Rick Mercer (an Anglophone Newfie) had, in a brilliant prank, convinced then-candidate [[George W. Bush]] that the [[Canadian Politics|Canadian PM]] of the time (c. 2000) was a person by the name of "Jean Poutine" (rather than the actual Jean Chretien). And now "Vladimir Poutine" is President/PM/President of Russia. Presumably, they're cousins...
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** Also in German, in which 6 = sechs and sex = Sex, both sounding VERY similar when you're a foreigner.
** Also in German, in which 6 = sechs and sex = Sex, both sounding VERY similar when you're a foreigner.
*** In some German dialects sechs is pronounced like seks, similar sounding like sex even to the locals.
*** In some German dialects sechs is pronounced like seks, similar sounding like sex even to the locals.
**** The Danish word for six is "seks" so the words sounds identical. Sometimes leads to [[Heh, Heh, You Said "X"]].
**** The Danish word for six is "seks" so the words sounds identical. Sometimes leads to [[Heh Heh, You Said "X"]].
** In Danish, "poison" and "married" not only sound the same, but are also spelled the same way.
** In Danish, "poison" and "married" not only sound the same, but are also spelled the same way.
** Swedish also has the wonderful: "Bar barbar-bar-barbar bar bar barbar-bar-barbar". Translates to: "Naked barbarian-bar barbarian carried naked barbarian-bar barbarian." As in a barbarian from a bar for barbarians. Ho'boy.
** Swedish also has the wonderful: "Bar barbar-bar-barbar bar bar barbar-bar-barbar". Translates to: "Naked barbarian-bar barbarian carried naked barbarian-bar barbarian." As in a barbarian from a bar for barbarians. Ho'boy.
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** "A woman, without her man, is nothing." vs. "A woman: without her, man is nothing."
** "A woman, without her man, is nothing." vs. "A woman: without her, man is nothing."
** Try to figure out where the punctuation is supposed to go in this one: that that is is that that is not is not that that is is not that that is not that that is not is not that that is is that not it it is. {{spoiler|That that is, is. That that is not, is not. That that is is not that that is not. That that is not is not that that is. Is that not it? It is.}}
** Try to figure out where the punctuation is supposed to go in this one: that that is is that that is not is not that that is is not that that is not that that is not is not that that is is that not it it is. {{spoiler|That that is, is. That that is not, is not. That that is is not that that is not. That that is not is not that that is. Is that not it? It is.}}
*** In a similar vein, the most the word "that" can be used in a row in a sentence and still be grammatically correct is five: Did you know that that that that that nurse used was wrong? (In other words, Did you know that the "that" that the nurse over there used was wrong?)
*** In a similar vein, the most the word "that" can be used in a row in a sentence and still be grammatically correct is five: Did you know that that that that that nurse used was wrong? (In other words, Did you know that the "that" that the nurse over there used was wrong?)
** [[IKEA Erotica|He put his sex in her sex and they had sex.]] But what was the sex of the baby that resulted from this sex?
** [[IKEA Erotica|He put his sex in her sex and they had sex.]] But what was the sex of the baby that resulted from this sex?
** If "X and Y" should be hyphenated, you need to put the hyphens between X and and and and and Y.
** If "X and Y" should be hyphenated, you need to put the hyphens between X and and and and and Y.
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* There is a Hebrew phrase that goes - "Isha Na'ala Na'ala Na'ala Na'ala et hadelet liphne ba'ala" meaning "A noble woman put on her shoe and locked the door in her husbands face (as likely as the next)/before her husband (as likely as the previous)/infront of her husband (the most likely)".
* There is a Hebrew phrase that goes - "Isha Na'ala Na'ala Na'ala Na'ala et hadelet liphne ba'ala" meaning "A noble woman put on her shoe and locked the door in her husbands face (as likely as the next)/before her husband (as likely as the previous)/infront of her husband (the most likely)".
** There is also "Kama khol yakhol khol le'ekhol bekhol yamot hakhol em bekhlal yakhol khol le'ekhol khol bekhol yamot hakhol?" meaning "How much sand could a pheonix eat on a weekday if a phoenix could eat sand on a weekday?". Although, keep in mind that 'kh' means the hard h sound. So it's the Hebrew equivalent of "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood."
** There is also "Kama khol yakhol khol le'ekhol bekhol yamot hakhol em bekhlal yakhol khol le'ekhol khol bekhol yamot hakhol?" meaning "How much sand could a pheonix eat on a weekday if a phoenix could eat sand on a weekday?". Although, keep in mind that 'kh' means the hard h sound. So it's the Hebrew equivalent of "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood."
*** Although with this example it is less common because Phoenixes are usually referred to as "Oph Ha Khol" which in turn could refer to a "Chicken of the Sand"
*** Although with this example it is less common because Phoenixes are usually referred to as "Oph Ha Khol" which in turn could refer to a "Chicken of the Sand"
* In one of the academic libraries in Israel, a window had a sheet of paper attached to it that read (in Hebrew): "please keep closed so that ions won't enter". This puzzled ''a lot'' of students for quite a while; until someone realized, in a true moment of fridge brilliance, that it should rather be read "..so that pigeons won't enter". "Ions" and "pigeons" ("yonim") are homographs in Hebrew.
* In one of the academic libraries in Israel, a window had a sheet of paper attached to it that read (in Hebrew): "please keep closed so that ions won't enter". This puzzled ''a lot'' of students for quite a while; until someone realized, in a true moment of fridge brilliance, that it should rather be read "..so that pigeons won't enter". "Ions" and "pigeons" ("yonim") are homographs in Hebrew.
** The same word could also be read "yevvanim" (Greeks). But that was presumably not considered a likely reading of the phrase.
** The same word could also be read "yevvanim" (Greeks). But that was presumably not considered a likely reading of the phrase.
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* There was a highly mediatized and parodied incident where [[Bill Clinton]] came to [[Romania]] with the occasion of its integration into NATO (or something like that). At one point, Bill Clinton states as best as I recall "We shall march forward, shoulder to shoulder". The woman translator, which incidentally until then did a good job (considering it was a live broadcast), translated it into "șold la șold” (which sounds almost identical, "ș is read as ”sh” in English). Which means ”hip next to hip”. [[Hilarity Ensues]] when you imagine two presidents jointed at the hip, not being able to go anywhere without the other being forced to move to the same place. If this hadn't been accidental, it would have earned a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] to anyone who made such a joke, but it would have probably not have been so well known.
* There was a highly mediatized and parodied incident where [[Bill Clinton]] came to [[Romania]] with the occasion of its integration into NATO (or something like that). At one point, Bill Clinton states as best as I recall "We shall march forward, shoulder to shoulder". The woman translator, which incidentally until then did a good job (considering it was a live broadcast), translated it into "șold la șold” (which sounds almost identical, "ș is read as ”sh” in English). Which means ”hip next to hip”. [[Hilarity Ensues]] when you imagine two presidents jointed at the hip, not being able to go anywhere without the other being forced to move to the same place. If this hadn't been accidental, it would have earned a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] to anyone who made such a joke, but it would have probably not have been so well known.
* In recent news, a Turkish man messaged his wife a sentence that reads "You change the topic every time you run out of arguments". The cellphone doesn't have the letter "ı", however, and used the standard letter "i" instead, so the word "sıkısınca" looked far too much like the word "sikişince" -- which changed the sentence to "You change the topic every time we f***". His wife showed the message to his father, who was enraged; this actually led to [http://gizmodo.com/382026/a-cellphones-missing-dot-kills-two-people-puts-three-more-in-jail two deaths].
* In recent news, a Turkish man messaged his wife a sentence that reads "You change the topic every time you run out of arguments". The cellphone doesn't have the letter "ı", however, and used the standard letter "i" instead, so the word "sıkısınca" looked far too much like the word "sikişince" -- which changed the sentence to "You change the topic every time we f***". His wife showed the message to his father, who was enraged; this actually led to [http://gizmodo.com/382026/a-cellphones-missing-dot-kills-two-people-puts-three-more-in-jail two deaths].
* American Sign Language has a few of these as well. The signs for 'hungry' and 'horny' are basically the same sign with one moving up and one moving down. 'Recently' and 'sex' are the same, with one moving backwards and one moving forwards. 'Shy' and 'hooker' can be mistaken for each other.
* American Sign Language has a few of these as well. The signs for 'hungry' and 'horny' are basically the same sign with one moving up and one moving down. 'Recently' and 'sex' are the same, with one moving backwards and one moving forwards. 'Shy' and 'hooker' can be mistaken for each other.
** In fact, almost every sign in ASL is similar to another, and a lot of them only differ by a few centimetres (moving a finger down five or ten centimetres can completely change a meaning, for example). For this reason, in deaf culture, it's extremely impolite to interrupt a conversation - it takes a lot of concentration even for fluent signers to see the difference between some signs.
** In fact, almost every sign in ASL is similar to another, and a lot of them only differ by a few centimetres (moving a finger down five or ten centimetres can completely change a meaning, for example). For this reason, in deaf culture, it's extremely impolite to interrupt a conversation - it takes a lot of concentration even for fluent signers to see the difference between some signs.
* A common example when studying theology, specifically, possible translation errors in the bible, the phrase "[[The Problem with Pen Island|GODISNOWHERE]]" is used. This can be interpreted both as "God is now here" or "God is nowhere". Simply put, Hebrew can be a bit confusing to translate if you don't know the context.
* A common example when studying theology, specifically, possible translation errors in the bible, the phrase "[[The Problem with Pen Island|GODISNOWHERE]]" is used. This can be interpreted both as "God is now here" or "God is nowhere". Simply put, Hebrew can be a bit confusing to translate if you don't know the context.
* Slavic languages with their many grammatical cases, declinations and importance of proper accenting to differentiate them can have sentences become indecipherable/wrong thanks to one wrongly placed stress.
* Slavic languages with their many grammatical cases, declinations and importance of proper accenting to differentiate them can have sentences become indecipherable/wrong thanks to one wrongly placed stress.
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