In my experience, the funnest bad translations come from the Italians. I have a favorite site, about the Salso Maggiore Thermal Baths in Northern Italy. I watch it as a test case. Until recently, the English translation there was laughably awful. It was clearly done by somebody who knew only enough English to be dangerous. Recently, a new English translation has emerged—or sort of. It is obviously the result of an unfortunate reliance on a generic machine translation service. Anything the machine didn’t know, it left in Italian, and the web hosts published it that way. The rest is so garbled as to be often unintelligible. It’s not even very funny now. Won’t someone please convince them to use a real translator?
The Japanese used to be gross offenders. Bad translations marred much of their written production, from menus to street signs to product brochures. Lately, they are much better. It’s hard, relatively speaking, to find a poorly translated Japanese website. The new champions of bad translations are the Chinese. Their new business strength has led many Chinese firms to rush to the internet with quasi-English.
Until we can build our own database of bad translations, here are a couple of sites with fun lists: DribbleGlass and Datsun Bluebird Manual.
I ask you to send me your favorite bad translations, but please, no second hand stuff you find on the Web. I’m looking for real material—especially websites that should have used a professional translator. My point in showing the bad translations is to emphasize the importance and value of good translation.
My personal favorites, that I have seen with my own eyes –
A handbill from the Abu Dhabi police to drivers: “Not to fling garbages from window.”
A recruiting handbill for a Japanese bowling club: “We are company loved bowling. Come let’s enjoy bowling with us.”
A Korean-made tray that our baby boy uses, showing two cuddly bears, with one asking the other: “Are you love me?”
In a Turkish café that caters to tourists: “Breakfast every time.”
In a vacant lot in Chile: “No votar.” [Explanation: the sign was meant to be written with a “b” – “No botar.” That’s a good translation of “No littering.” Instead, “No votar” means “Don’t vote”, and could have led to political trouble for the land owner.]
Good stuff. Bring 'em on!
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