Top 30 Translation Failures
Sep 23rd, 2008 | By Sevara | Category: EnglishEnglish is spoken all over the world. Or maybe we should say “Engrish” because, unfortunately, some people fail at translating it. “Engrish” refers to mistranslated and grammatically incorrect variations of English. Spelling may also be incorrect. While the term “Engrish” may refer to spoken English, it is more often used to describe written English.
“Engrish” might appear due to poor knowledge of English grammar or just because of the peculiarities of the other language it is translated from.
“Engrish” has been found on everything from poorly translated signs, menus, and strange t-shirt slogans. Country-specific terms, such as Japlish or Janglish for Japan, Denglish for Germany, and Chinglish for China also exist.
Sometimes, a small mistake can destroy your business. Of course, they are made unintentionally but they are avoidable. There have been hilarious moments when I discovered pictures with wonderful translations by the Chinese as well as the Japanese. Let´s imagine when a foreigner sits down in a non-English-speaking environment, and there are ``Fly mix´´ and ``Cowboy leg´´ on the menu. Should he order flies or a cowboy´s leg?
Check out the top 30 translation failures below and see which one you think is the funniest, and most important of all, avoid making these kinds of grammatical mistakes!
#1
Picture taken in Korea
Courtesy of Irene Vander Meer
#2
Courtesy of failblog.com
#3
Courtesy of failblog.com
#4
Picture taken in Thailand
Courtesy of Michelle Plaistow
#5
Courtesy of failblog.com
#6
A sign in a bathroom in Shanghai.
Courtesy of Matt Bayer
#7
"Slip Carefully." Picture taken in China
Courtesy of Kieran Wilson
#8
Picture of a Thai sign which reads: "September and October Miraculous Fishing. Have a bottle of wine and beceive a necklace or a bracelet made of Danny B. Creation.
Courtesy of Michelle Plaistow
#9
Courtesy of Shelley Williams Walker
#10
Sign at a Chinese sandwich shop for a "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bacon" sandwich...
Courtesy of Peter Choi
#11
Courtesy of Kieran Wilson
#12
This picture was taken in the gardens behind Heian Jingu in Kyoto.
The lower part of the sign says "When crossing [the bridge of the reclining dragon], be careful of the footing sufficiently. Understand beforehand because the responsibility can not be assumed about the accident in case and so on."
Picture courtesy of Mike Allred
#13
The English translation reads: "Only a few of the dead were buried carelessly in a discarded storage pit. They were probably dead not normally."
Courtesy of Shelley Williams Walker
#14
A very immoral newspaper advertising
Courtesy of failblog.com
#15
From a Chinese airline in-flight magazine.
Courtesy of Shelley Williams Walker
#16
Courtesy of failblog.com
#17
Courtesy of Peter Choi
#18
Courtesy of Peter Choi
#19
Courtesy of Peter Choi
#20
Courtesy of failblog.com
#21
Courtesy of failblog.com
#22
Courtesy of Shelley Williams Walker
#23
Courtesy of Shelley Williams Walker
#24
Courtesy of failblog.com
#25
Courtesy of failblog.com
#26
The Japanese portion of the sign reads: "Please refrain from smoking in areas where ashtrays are not provided."
Courtesy of Mike Allred
#27
Picture taken in Germany
#28
Courtesy of failblog.com
#29
Courtesy of Spanishtrans
#30
Courtesy of Spanishtrans
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Pictures in this article were taken from the English Fail Blog and Spanish Translation Help websites, as well as the Facebook group “Bad translations make me laugh”, with consent from their respective owners.
