ProZ.com Translation Forums

A true classic... (translation error) | Warnung! (noch eins)

Karintha — Thu, 10 Jan 2002 21:11:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Karintha
Post title: Warnung! (noch eins)

My husband was in a hotel once where the alarm clock function on the television was translated into German as \"Warnung\"....

Karintha

A true classic... (translation error) | Page for upchucking about such finds ....

Hermeneutica — Sat, 05 Jan 2002 19:31:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Hermeneutica
Post title: Page for upchucking about such finds ....

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?

A true classic... (translation error) | Sexual implications - "Americanization" vs. "Anglicization"

Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X) — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 23:11:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Post title: Sexual implications - "Americanization" vs. "Anglicization"

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 ]

A true classic... (translation error) | Reminds me...

Hans-Henning Judek — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 22:58:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Hans-Henning Judek
Post title: Reminds me...

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 hchste 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 \"hchste Kundenbefriedigung\" again.

A true classic... (translation error) | Robben ausspucken

Uschi (Ursula) Walke — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 19:08:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Uschi (Ursula) Walke
Post title: Robben ausspucken

Hello, Ralf with an F!

Das darf doch hchstens mal ein Wal oder ein groer 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

A true classic... (translation error) | Robben ausspucken

Uschi (Ursula) Walke — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 19:06:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Uschi (Ursula) Walke
Post title: Robben ausspucken

Das darf doch hchstens mal ein Wal oder ein groer 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

A true classic... (translation error) | Page for chuckling about such finds? Could be called "Trouvailles"

Maya Jurt (X) — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 13:26:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Maya Jurt (X)
Post title: Page for chuckling about such finds? Could be called "Trouvailles"

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?

A true classic... (translation error) | wasn't me!

Beth Kantus — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 10:36:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Beth Kantus
Post title: wasn't me!

must be a particularly unpalatable agreement!

thanks for a laugh on another much too busy day

A true classic... (translation error)

Ralf Lemster — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 08:19:00 +0000

Forum: German
Topic: A true classic... (translation error)
Poster: Ralf Lemster

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.... )