PLEASE TO NOTICING! OTHERWISE DAMAGING!

I once helped assemble a desk that came with instructions referencing a 'rat board' several times. We ignored that part since we couldn't make sense of it.

When we were done, we had a plank of wood left over and, after some inspection, realized that it attached to the bottom of the sliding keyboard tray and was, in fact, a mouse board.

I want to see the setting that evaporates the machine. "Phasers on disintegrate, Mr. Sulu!"



I recently purchased some votive candle holders which came with safety instruction sheets including such warnings as: "When the candle is burning or right after putting off a fire, don't touch it, otherwise you may burn with it. Be careful with the sudden fall that is caused by the earthquake and the wind." That's the first product I've bought which came with its own earthquake warning.

I love translation quirks. It may be an urban legend, but it's one of my favorites either way.

Way back a million years ago, when Coca-Cola's ad slogan was "Coke - It brings you back to life!" there was some issue in taking that on the road to China.

The translation came off, "Coke - It brings your ancestors back from the grave." Funny any way you look at it, but doubly so in a culture strong with ancestor reverence.

A website devoted to dodgy translations.

http://engrishfunny.com/

Perks said:

I love translation quirks. It may be an urban legend, but it's one of my favorites either way.

Way back a million years ago, when Coca-Cola's ad slogan was "Coke - It brings you back to life!" there was some issue in taking that on the road to China.

The translation came off, "Coke - It brings your ancestors back from the grave." Funny any way you look at it, but doubly so in a culture strong with ancestor reverence.

Click to expand...

That's like Pepsi's mid-sixties "Come Alive!" slogan, which in Germany was apparently a euphemism for sexual excitement.

Another favorite is the Chevy Nova. In Spanish, no va means "it doesn't go."

When you can write in understandable Japanese you can criticize.

Babelfish, anyone?

Please for to repeat...

TheIT said:

I want to see the setting that evaporates the machine. "Phasers on disintegrate, Mr. Sulu!"

Click to expand...

Why, my first job was working on load lifters, very similar to your evaporators in many ways, sir!

dclary said:

Why, my first job was working on load lifters, very similar to your evaporators in many ways, sir!

Click to expand...

Move along, move along, these are not the droids you want.

nevada said:

A website devoted to dodgy translations.

http://engrishfunny.com/

Click to expand...

When my mouse avatar stinks...
http://engrish.com/

Even languages like French, which is closer to English than Japanese, can sound very odd when translated word-for-word into English. I remember doing that in French class and having to switch sentences around rather frequently to take them out of passive voice. (Yes, it was allowed, so long as we were able to get the meaning correct.) And in Quebec City there was a French sign over a KFC which, when translated directly, came out as "Chicken of Kentucky That Is Fried."