A true classic... (translation error) Thread poster: Ralf Lemster
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Ralf Lemster 
Germany
Local time: 04:50
English to German
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Note on the outside of the installation CD for Quark XPress 4.1 (admittedly not one of the cheapest packages around):
EN
\"By breaking the seal on this package, you agree to the terms of the Software license agreement located in this box.\"
DE
\"Durch Erbrechen des Siegels auf dieser Packung...\"
I just hope nobody in this forum did that translation....  )
| | | | Beth Kantus
United States
Local time: 22:50
German to English
must be a particularly unpalatable agreement!
thanks for a laugh on another much too busy day 
| | | | Maya Jurt
Switzerland
Local time: 04:50
French to German
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| Page for chuckling about such finds? Could be called "Trouvailles" | Nov 20, 2001 |
Well, vomiting seals (not the animal) does not leave too much of a mess. And I have seen worse.
Ralph, thanks for reporting it. I thinks we could uplift our spirits by reporting such finds on an special Forum page. Anyone interested?
| | | | | Robben ausspucken | Nov 20, 2001 |
Das darf doch höchstens mal ein Wal oder ein großer Hai und wir sollten uns jetzt gleich an Greenpeace wenden.
Yes, we should collect and share the blunders we come across. (not those made by ProZ peers, of course. I\'d be No. 1!)
Kind Regards, Uschi
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| Robben ausspucken | Nov 20, 2001 |
Hello, Ralf with an F!
Das darf doch höchstens mal ein Wal oder ein großer Hai und wir sollten uns jetzt gleich an Greenpeace wenden.
Yes, we should collect and share the blunders we come across. (not those made by ProZ peers, of course. I\'d be No. 1!)
Kind Regards, Uschi
| | | | | Reminds me... | Nov 20, 2001 |
Yeah, sometimes you can have fun even in our dry business! But sometimes it catches you cold without your own fault:
I can remember that long time ago I did a translation for the Frankfurt Motor Show. When the show was over, I got a furious call complaining about the warped translation with \"sexual implications\". The original was something like \"Highest Customer Satisfaction...\" and the translation \"Unser Ziel ist höchste Kundenbefriedigung...\".
... See more Yeah, sometimes you can have fun even in our dry business! But sometimes it catches you cold without your own fault:
I can remember that long time ago I did a translation for the Frankfurt Motor Show. When the show was over, I got a furious call complaining about the warped translation with \"sexual implications\". The original was something like \"Highest Customer Satisfaction...\" and the translation \"Unser Ziel ist höchste Kundenbefriedigung...\".
I thought that I must have been drunk to deliver such a nonsense and actually even started writing some apology, until I had the idea to check my original translation. Of course....this headline wasn\'t there. There was som last-minute change and someone in the customer\'s company obviously had cut corners, took a dictionary and got the mess...
If now the term \"customer satisfaction\" comes up, even after so many years, everyone in the company is laughing about the \"höchste Kundenbefriedigung\" again.
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| | | | Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Local time: 22:50
German to English
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| Sexual implications - "Americanization" vs. "Anglicization" | Nov 20, 2001 |
Quite right: the English language is full of these pitfalls. However, it depends on your target audience: are they (North) Americans or British?
One of my teachers (and she was British) would always say, \"Brits have dirty minds\". And she was right: it is mostly the British who are more prone to read sexual references into phrases such as \"customer satisfaction\".
Speaking of \"customer satisfaction\": Ja... See more Quite right: the English language is full of these pitfalls. However, it depends on your target audience: are they (North) Americans or British?
One of my teachers (and she was British) would always say, \"Brits have dirty minds\". And she was right: it is mostly the British who are more prone to read sexual references into phrases such as \"customer satisfaction\".
Speaking of \"customer satisfaction\": Jay Leno (from the Tonight Show) shows funny newspaper headlines and other clippings on Monday nights, and last Monday he showed a newspaper ad for some kind of business that read: \"Customer satisfaction is not an option\" - so, you see: even native speakers can get it wrong sometimes.
[ This Message was edited by: on 2001-11-20 23:13 ] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Hermeneutica
Switzerland
Local time: 04:50
Dutch to English
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| Page for upchucking about such finds .... | Jan 5, 2002 |
Waere hier auch angebracht gewesen ...
Dee
Quote:
On 2001-11-20 13:26, mayagyan wrote:
Well, vomiting seals (not the animal) does not leave too much of a mess. And I have seen worse.
Ralph, thanks for reporting it. I thinks we could uplift our spirits by reporting such finds on an special Forum page. Anyone inte
... See more Waere hier auch angebracht gewesen ...
Dee
Quote:
On 2001-11-20 13:26, mayagyan wrote:
Well, vomiting seals (not the animal) does not leave too much of a mess. And I have seen worse.
Ralph, thanks for reporting it. I thinks we could uplift our spirits by reporting such finds on an special Forum page. Anyone interested?
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| Warnung! (noch eins) | Jan 10, 2002 |
My husband was in a hotel once where the alarm clock function on the television was translated into German as \"Warnung\"....
Karintha
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