Badly translated materials. They abound. And, of course, grammatical and lexical errors are hardly limited to translators; just the other day at a gas station I paid by debit card at the pump and there was a sign posted that I should push the green button if I wanted to "except" the transaction. Sigh. Well, let's just enjoy them, then, shall we? Here's a list of some infamous and hilarious translations.I hope you tootle with vigor today!
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
that the Spanish
translation read "Are you lactating?"
In a Zurich hotel: Because of
the impropriety of entertaining guests of the opposite sex in the bedroom, it
is suggested that the lobby be used for this purpose.
In an East
African newspaper: A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the
contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.
In a
Czechoslovakian tourist agency: Take one of our horse-driven city tours -- we
guarantee no miscarriages.
In a Paris hotel elevator:
Please leave your values at the front desk."
Coors put its
slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as
"Suffer From Diarrhea."
Scandinavian
vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign:
"Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."
In a Tokyo bar: "Special
today for the ladies with nuts."
In a Rhodes tailor shop: "Order your summers suit.
Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation."
Puffs tissues
tried to introduce its product in German only to learn that "Puff" in
German is a colloquial term for a whorehouse.
Advertisement for
donkey rides in Thailand:
"Would you like to ride your own ass?"
In a Rome laundry:
"Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good
time."
A hotel notice in
Madrid: If
You Wish Disinfection Enacted In Your Presence, Please Cry Out For The
Chambermaid
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."
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!"
In an
advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist: Teeth
extracted by the latest Methodists.
The American
slogan for Salem
cigarettes, "Salem-Feeling Free", was translated into the Japanese
market as "When smoking Salem,
you will feel so refreshed that your mind
seems to be free and empty".
Ford had a
problem in Brazil
when the Pinto flopped. The company discovered that the word Pinto was
Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals".
When Kentucky
Fried Chicken entered the Chinese market, they discovered that their slogan
"finger lickin' good" was translated as "eat your fingers off".
Frank Perdue was
no better off. This chicken magnate's slogan: "It takes a tough man to
make a tender chicken" was rendered in Spanish as "It takes a hard man to make a
chicken aroused."
In a Budapest zoo: Please do
not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on
duty.
In the office of
a Roman doctor: Specialist in women and other diseases.
In an Acapulco hotel: The
manager has personally passed all the water served here.
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.
From a brochure
of a car rental firm in Tokyo:
When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously
at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then
tootle him with vigor.
Two signs from a Moroccan shop entrance: - English well
speaking / - Here speeching American.
Tokyo hotel's rules: Guests are requested not
to smoke and do other disgusting behaviors in bed.
In the window of
a Swedish furrier: Fur Coats Made For Ladies From Their Own Skin.
Sign in a German
hospital: No Children Allowed In The Maternity Wards.
The sign at the
concierge's desk in an Athen's hotel:" If You Consider Our Help Impolite,
You Should See The Manager.
A notice in a Vienna hotel: In Case Of
Fire Do Your Utmost To Alarm The Hall Porter.
Detour sign in Kyushi, Japan:
Stop: Drive sideways.
that might not have been so bad. Anyway, The Mother Tongue is so full of interesting facts and details about English that it sent me on a web search to see what else I could find out there about the origins of my mother tongue (and my mother's tongue). One of the results was this hilarious cartoon version of the history of English, which I think linguists, clients, and friends alike will appreciate and perhaps even learn from:
that might not have been so bad. Anyway, The Mother Tongue is so full of interesting facts and details about English that it sent me on a web search to see what else I could find out there about the origins of my mother tongue (and my mother's tongue). One of the results was this hilarious cartoon version of the history of English, which I think linguists, clients, and friends alike will appreciate and perhaps even learn from:
