Rapport International » Funny translations

Translationparty.com

Wendy Pease — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:21:42 +0000

Here is fun activity when you have a few minutes to laugh. Go to translationparty.com and type in an English idiom. Then watch it get translated into another language and back to English. See how funny the phrase becomes when a machine does the translation. One phrase to try is; Go forward, don’t look back and embrace life. After you are done laughing, you will understand why Rapport International only uses the top translators to handle all their projects. Machines only translate actual “words” not the meaning behind the words. Go to translationparty.com, have fun, laugh and then call Rapport International for all your translation needs.

Chinglish

Wendy Pease — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:43:39 +0000

Here is an excerpt from an article about a new Broadway show:

The comedy, is about the hilarity and politics that ensue when a U.S. businessman tries to secure a lucrative contract in China for his family’s sign-making firm. The lead producers of “Chinglish,” Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel, are bringing the play to Broadway after a sold-out run at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

“In its own way, I would call it a groundbreaking comedy,” Richards said in an interview. “There’s never been a play, a comedy like ‘Chinglish,’ on Broadway. It explores relations today between the Chinese and Americans and our relationship. It’s very much cutting-edge in its way.”

The play was inspired by Hwang’s own business trips to China, which he has taken in the past six years amid China’s interest in Broadway-style musicals. “I happen to be the only even nominally Chinese person who’s written a Broadway show,” Hwang said. “So people would call me over for meetings and there’d always be plans to build a theater district in China.”

It was on these trips when Hwang encountered the bizarre signs in “Chinglish” – bungled translations of Chinese phrases into English, such as “Deformed Man’s Toilet” for “Handicapped Restrooms,” which he saw at an otherwise beautiful new arts center in Shanghai.

Pepsi Slogan

Wendy Pease — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:38:54 +0000

In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” came out as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.”

Body Bags

Wendy Pease — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:43:30 +0000

Almost as good as the confusion among English speakers over the term Fanny Pack, is the humor raised by the German equivalent for knapsack. Companies often use or “borrow” words from other languages to give their product names a certain cachet. Sometimes their choices are a bit odd. German makers of knapsacks refer to them as “Body Bags“.

Funny Translations

Wendy Pease — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:47:12 +0000

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.

Global Proverbs and Idioms

Wendy Pease — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:45:10 +0000

Here the donkey falls

- German idiom meaning this is the important part

To count stars

-Russian for twiddling your thumbs

To lose the stirrup

-Italian, Spanish for losing your temper

Become famous, then go to sleep.

- South American proverb

Do you have a “yen” for something . . .

Wendy Pease — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:07:40 +0000

When you really want something, it can be said you have a “yen” for it. But the phrase doesn’t actually refer to Japanese currency—it refers to Chinese opium, which was available in Britain and America in the late 1800s. The phrase comes from the Chinese word yan, which can be translated to craving.

Raucous partygoers

Wendy Pease — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:06:11 +0000

A raucous partygoer can be described as going wild or running amok, an expression that derives from the Malaysian word amoq, which, when literally translated, describes the behavior of tribesmen who, under the influence of opium, became wild, rampaging mobs that attacked anybody in their path. The phrase became popular in England during the 17th century, when travelers would try to impress people with their knowledge of foreign cultures.

Found in Translation

Wendy Pease — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:18:10 +0000

Meraki (may-RAH-kee) adj.
Modern Greek: To do something with soul, creativity, or love; to put yourself into what you are doing.

Bad Translations

Wendy Pease — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:14:07 +0000

Cultural ignorance and bad translations can have catastrophic consequences. By working with Rapport International, you can save your company embarrassing mistakes. Read about these marketing and translation missteps that were costly. A cookbook intended for sale in the Middle East lists one of the ingredients for a recipe as cranberries. The problem is that cranberries are only found in North America. There is also the clothing packaging designed around the color which represents prostitution in China and the acronym of a major pharmaceutical brand that spelled ‘blindness’ in Norwegian. Don’t let these mistakes happen to you. Call Rapport International first.