Translation - art & business » Lighter side of trans/interp »
Off topic: The pitfalls of foreign languages
Thread poster: Sabine Braun
Sabine Braun
Sabine Braun  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:06
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
Jun 14, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8096988.stm


Not only the French are guilty of "yoghurting" - I did the same when I was a teenager and murdered some Beatles songs....
 
Adam Łobatiuk
Adam Łobatiuk  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 07:06
Member (2009)
English to Polish
+ ...
Not about yoghurting, but still about a pitfall Jun 14, 2009

It's unfathomable to me how the German lightbulb maker Osram managed to enter the Polish market as early as in the 1920's with its brand name unchanged, which means in Polish... I'll sh*t all over (it). How incredibly good they must have been, if people back then didn't mind such language!
 
Lauren Butler (X)
Lauren Butler (X)
Local time: 06:06
Russian to English
+ ...
ba-hahahaha Jun 14, 2009

"My dear, I believe it's pronounced 'happiness.'"

Oh my god that was excellent! Thanks for posting.
 
David Earl
David Earl  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 23:06
German to English
Just back from a trip which included Air France Jun 14, 2009

So, one of the highlights was explaining to the attendant that I wanted my apple juice to be a large drink instead of a long drink. (After listening to 6-8 announcements about the trip from Hamburg to Paris being a non-smoking flight, I probably should have let her give me a long drink. sigh.)
 
Lesley Clarke
Lesley Clarke  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 23:06
Spanish to English
Wonderful Jun 14, 2009

Thanks
 
Özden Arıkan
Özden Arıkan  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 07:06
Member
English to Turkish
+ ...
Not necessarily foreign languages Jun 15, 2009

I still laugh when I remember a colleague telling us here in the forums a conversation between her mom and baby brother (or, sister... this was long time ago):
-Do you want an egg for breakfast?
-Oh Mom, I want two neggs!


 
Alma de Kok
Alma de Kok  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 07:06
Member (2006)
Polish to Dutch
+ ...
a soap sandwich Jun 15, 2009

A friend of mine went to Colombia hardly knowing spanish. When he asked for a ham-sandwich, people looked at him strangely. He said jabon in stead of jamon...

And:
We are used to say: "I go to the toilet". In Polish there are two different phrases for 'I am going': "idę" (by foot) or "jadę" (using some kind of vehicle). It took my husband a few years before he went to the toilet using his own feet...


[Edited at 2009-06-15 04:53 GMT]
 


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The pitfalls of foreign languages






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