Lost in Translation

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LindsD
LindsD
Oct 2023
10:26am, 20 Oct 2023
64,606 posts
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LindsD
I learnt Russian during my master's but found it really hard to keep up. Respect to you.
paulcook
paulcook
Oct 2023
10:30am, 20 Oct 2023
3,478 posts
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paulcook
Google translate is a great example. Stick a phrase in and then reverse the process and often you can be miles away from where you started. Certainly once upon a time anyway.
fetcheveryone
fetcheveryone
Oct 2023
10:38am, 20 Oct 2023
29,717 posts
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fetcheveryone
The bill from the Chinese / Thai restaurant we went to on Saturday. Not quite 'Lost in Translation', but more "what did I just eat?":

HappyG(rrr)
HappyG(rrr)
Oct 2023
11:26am, 20 Oct 2023
48,192 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
You know the thread "In tempo, can hear nobody you skims" is a translation fun, Friday thread?

Though it's a bit forced, obv. Take a phrase, put it through Google translate (other machine translators are available), then reverse and see how far away you are. Sometimes a bit contrived, but often very funny! Looks like no one has played for a couple of years! :-) G

fetcheveryone.com/forum/in-tempo-can-hear-nobody-you-skims-19182/
Cerrertonia
Cerrertonia
Oct 2023
3:50pm, 20 Oct 2023
19,789 posts
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Cerrertonia


Part of the dessert menu from a fairly fancy restaurant I went to in India a few years back.
jda
jda
Oct 2023
5:44pm, 20 Oct 2023
15,659 posts
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jda
Not a translation, just a typo, but many years ago we were rather amused by the menu in a local Chinese that said the wines were labelled according to taste: 1 was the sweetest and 5 was the direst.

Our Japanese employer had an international bent and the canteen used to translate the menu items, somewhat approximately. Cubic Pork and Scotched Egg were two of our favourites. The Scotched Egg was really good!
Silent Runner
Silent Runner
Oct 2023
10:02pm, 20 Oct 2023
985 posts
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Silent Runner
Also a typo - a local Indian had a sign on the door saying that the management reserved the right to reuse customers.

Seems like a good policy for a restaurant - you wouldn't want to run out of customers.
Badger
Badger
Oct 2023
10:11pm, 22 Oct 2023
16,701 posts
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Badger
...reuse them as what, exactly?

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About This Thread

Maintained by Sweetie
Following LindsDs excellent blog about the complexity of translation it starting me thinking about some of the worst mistranslations I have come across over the years. I often use Spanish subtitles when watching English TV programs and I guess these are bashed out quite quickly because some of those translations can be waaaay off!:
An episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine where one character asked “Is that your take away?” (i.e. is that what you understand from this) and the translation was “Is ...

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