Lost In Translation

[Ulysses31]

Ok I doubt any of us would be able to translate anything from Chinese but you'd expect them to employ a decent translator for a place like an airport

Lost in translation: Hilarious advice signs from foreign airports... where their English leaves a little to be desired


* Photographs of unusual instructions and signs posted by visitors on blog

* Avoid 'landslides in lounge', 'flesh juice' in canteen, 'mind crotch' on stairs

* But if ever in any trouble, travellers are urged to pull 'Emergency Door Cock'

* Plane was delayed for 'some reasons' with chairs designated for the 'weak'


Foreign airports can be scary and confusing places with any number of dangers just waiting to trip you up - especially if the warning signs are all in Chinese.

So to keep safe, just remember to avoid 'landslides' in the lounge, the 'flesh juice' in the canteen and the 'mind crotch' on the stairs... and whatever you do, never 'bomb into the ash' in the smoking area.

But if you ever do fall foul of any of these hidden perils, remember... you can always pull the 'Emergency Door Cock'.

These are just some of the bizarre - and befuddling - translations of everyday signage pictured in airports across the Far East. And they make for a rather baffling read.

Visitors to airports across Asia captured some of the more amusing translations, posting their pictures of signs and labels on an online blog.

In an airport?: What appears to be a 'Careful: Slippery surface' sign has been labelled 'Be careful of landslide' in this Chinese bathroom

Appetising: A sign in Japan advertises fresh fruit juice is translated as a rather less appetising 'flesh juice'

Befuddling: If you don't know what a mind crotch is, then it is best to avoid this Chinese airport, while smokers in Beijing International Airport should never 'bomb into the ash here', right

Unnerving: If you ever do fall foul of any of these hidden perils, remember... you can always pull the 'Emergency Door Cock' at Taipei Airport in Taiwan


Found on everything from poorly translated signs and menus to bizarrely worded adverts and strange t-shirt slogans the mis-use of English can be found everywhere.

Scroll down to see the latest collection of amusingly 'creative' English from around the world.

The results include simple translations that have been worded perhaps more bluntly than European travellers might be used to - such as a row of seats reserved for the 'old, weak and pregnant'.

Passengers at one airport were informed that their flight had been 'delayed for some reasons'.

Helpful: A series of photographs posted on an online blog details bizarre and hilarious English translations in airports across Asia

Communication breakdown: A toilet has been reserved for the 'weal only' (left) while a metal bin before airport security has been designated as a 'liquid abandoned place'

Nappy swap: Travellers are informed of an unusual in-flight service, a 'baby diaper exchange'

Blunt: A row of seats in one Chinese airport has been reserved for the 'old, weak and pregnant', right, while a bin has usefully been designated for 'unrecycling' waste


The vernacular mismatch also leads to a bin labelled for 'unrecycling' and a useful sign telling people to 'mind crotch'.

Since being posted online, the signs gone viral as internet-users share them with friends and send in other wacky suggestions they've found themselves on their travels.

Other translations have been confused as much for cultural as linguistic reasons, evidenced by what appears to be 'careful: slippery surface' sign, labelled 'Be careful of landslide'.

There is also a charity donation box asking travellers to donate cash to help 'especially difficult children'. It is almost full to the brim.

Muddle: Even the most considerate of travellers might find it difficult to understand this message

Romance: For sanitation purposes you should only share your can with a lover

Full: It might prove a rather difficult task to squeeze any more money into this box for 'especially difficult children'


Meanwhile a Japanese sign asks parents, not, apparently, to throw away their child's dirty nappies, but to take them to the 'baby diaper exchange'.

Some are so confusing that it is impossible to even guess what the sign is asking frequent fliers to do, such as a sign above the door of a Chinese aeroplane that asks passengers to 'Gets hold of arm rest to fall the wound carefully'.

There is even a Chinese vending machine that urges thirsty travellers not to share their cans of drink with anyone - unless they are 'not the lovers'.

Mannerly: Visitors are welcomed by a sign telling them they are entering a 'civilized airport'

Parent and child: Users of an escalator are told to look after their 'oldster' as well as child

Honest mistake: A simple misspelling labels a 'fire fydrant'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lish-leaves-little-desired.html#ixzz2RszKSVpJ

 

[Mayhem]

Hey man, we could have used an "Especially Difficult Children" Charity when I was a kid.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

This would be funnier if I didn't frequently see the language used more poorly by native speakers...

 

[meesterperfect]

I saw a lot of stuff like that when i lived in south America.

 

[gunslingingbird]

I'm training to be an English-Spanish court interpreter. We've seen many, many examples like these, and worse. The difference between making mistakes in my field and the mistakes in the article is that the ones in the article are just laughable and cutesy, and are little more consequential than just someone saying "Ha ha, these Chinamen don't know English." Nobody gets hurt. In my field, however, one small meaning shift can literally be the difference between life and death.

I read an article recently about how someone who got arrested for what he thought was driving without a license and he ended up with a 15-year prison sentence because his interpreter failed to properly convey the message that he was actually being charged with stealing a city-owned dump truck. Since the interpreter wasn't competent enough to explain the charges accurately, the guy plead guilty to what he thought would carry a maximum sentence of 30 days of community service.

In another similar case that I read about, a conviction was thrown out and the case had to be retried because the interpreter made the simple mistake of changing one letter in a sentence, which changed the whole meaning of the message. Instead of saying "No lo hice," the interpreter said, "Yo lo hice." That was enough to change the entire meaning.

Scary shit, if you think about it.

 

[vodkazvictim]

I'm training to be an English-Spanish court interpreter. We've seen many, many examples like these, and worse. The difference between making mistakes in my field and the mistakes in the article is that the ones in the article are just laughable and cutesy, and are little more consequential than just someone saying "Ha ha, these Chinamen don't know English." Nobody gets hurt. In my field, however, one small meaning shift can literally be the difference between life and death.

I read an article recently about how someone who got arrested for what he thought was driving without a license and he ended up with a 15-year prison sentence because his interpreter failed to properly convey the message that he was actually being charged with stealing a city-owned dump truck. Since the interpreter wasn't competent enough to explain the charges accurately, the guy plead guilty to what he thought would carry a maximum sentence of 30 days of community service.

In another similar case that I read about, a conviction was thrown out and the case had to be retried because the interpreter made the simple mistake of changing one letter in a sentence, which changed the whole meaning of the message. Instead of saying "No lo hice," the interpreter said, "Yo lo hice." That was enough to change the entire meaning.

Scary shit, if you think about it.

Who cares? Spanish speakers don't have rights.
/wurm

 

[Mr_Stiffy]

That diagram looks a bit wrong.

 

[meesterperfect]

Gun, that's a really tough endeavor trying to be an interpreter. You really gotta be pretty much 100% in the non native language. plus all the different meanings depending on context and country. Unless you were raised bilingual that ain't easy.
Suerte.
Here is some common Colombian curse words in case you ever need them
My GF verified theyre all legit.
some are really offensive.

http://nawcom.com/swearing/colombian_spanish.htm

 

[L3ggy]

 

[Vanilla Bear]

I wanna suck the Emergency door cock! :blowjob:


There was someone at a boxing event once that said "May the force be with you" to someone and a German interpreter translated it to "Am 4. Mai sehen wir uns wieder" which means something like May the fourth we meet again.

Also on some famous German TV show Madonna asked some woman "Can you make my son a hat?". The German interpreter translated it to "Können Sie mir einen Sonnenhut machen?" which actually means "Can you make me a sunhat?". :o

That diagram looks a bit wrong.

Same what I thought.

 

[Bonezstorm]

I wanna suck the Emergency door cock! :blowjob:


There was someone at a boxing event once that said "May the force be with you" to someone and a German interpreter translated it to "Am 4. Mai sehen wir uns wieder" which means something like May the fourth we meet again.

I heard that the 4th of May is actually a real holiday for Star Wars-fans

 

[Petra]

I can't find the picture...but in January we decided to try a new ferry line to the UK from France. The Brasserie was closed for the morning trip and they had a sign on there that said "Please apologize for the closure".

The french staff were very puzzled since we made a big show of apologizing to them that their Brasserie was closed. (so we find ways to entertain ourselves on the 2 hour trip...)