This week has seen numerous mistranslations come to light – and most of them have been hilarious.
The Pope gets lost in translation
Last week saw the election of Cardinal Bergoglio as the new Pope Francis. He is the first Jesuit, the first Latin American and the first non-European to be named Pope and he replaces Benedict XVI, who this February became the first reigning Pope to resign his post since 1415.
Following his election, Pope Francis spoke to the crowds that had gathered in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City. The BBC covered the event and used an interpreter to translate the words of the new pontiff, who is Argentinian but spoke Italian to address the masses. Unfortunately, the new Pope’s words appeared lost on the linguist.
Viewers took to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to express their disbelief that the interpreter could not even correctly translate the Lord’s Prayer. According to the Daily Mail, one person commented: “You’d think the BBC could have found a translator that knew the Lord’s Prayer. Even I know it,” while another complained: “Love how they’ve got a translator who doesn’t know the Hail Mary in English… #fitting #bbc.”
Pope Francis speaks three languages, but he will most likely have to rely on professional interpreters to help him communicate with the rest of his worldwide congregation. Indeed, in a role as important as his it’s vital his words are interpreted correctly.
Buy a tasty “flesh juice”
Unfortunately, when it comes to communicating with people in a foreign language, it’s not uncommon for your words to get lost in translation – even when it’s just a simple safety message. Yesterday (March 19th), the Daily Mail compiled a group of photographs depicting some particularly poor examples of translation into English.
All of the snaps have been taken at airports in Asia and have captured the mistranslations that – far from simply not making sense – are frankly misleading. For instance, one café attempts to entice passing passengers to refresh themselves with a delicious glass of “flesh juice”. Meanwhile, another picture shows chairs that have been thoughtfully reserved for “the old weak and pregnant”.
In fact, weak people appear to be at the forefront of the minds of those in charge of translating airport signage in the Far East. One airport features toilets that inform passengers they are “for weak only”.
Other misleading signs include “baby diaper exchange”, “delayed due to some reasons”, “steep slope, mind crotch”, “emergency door cock” and “Sweet – Notice: For keeping sanitation, don’t share one can if not the lovers!”.
While all of these examples are sure to raise a laugh, passengers arriving in a country for the first time might not see the funny side. There could also be legal implications, as the signage’s warnings of potential danger have been lost in translation, so if someone does injure themselves as they weren’t able to understand the message they could take legal action.
We have written before about the confusing signs that have appeared on some Welsh roads. On one occasion reported by the BBC, a sign that was meant to advise drivers that heavy goods vehicles should not enter actually read “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated” in Welsh. Swansea council had sent the message they needed translated to their regular translation provider and had failed to realise that what they got back was an automated out-of-office email.
Mistranslations will always put a smile on our faces, but it should also teach us that it never pays to cut corners when it comes to translation. Whether you need a sign or a brochure translated, be sure to have it done by a professional linguist whose mother tongue is your target language. This ensures the finished product is not only accurate but also correctly localised for your target audience. You should also choose a translation provider who offers proofreading as a standard to ensure any mistakes are corrected before your sign is printed.
Contact Language Insight today for a translation service you can trust.
Photo credit: kOikOi00
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