With our global economy, many of us around the world have become accustomed to product packaging and instructions provided in several, if not dozens, of languages. I'm guessing that a lot of the translations from the producers' language are done by computer. This can result in sometimes puzzling, sometimes hilarious translations.
We found these Chinese noodles on a recent shopping trip. The cooking instructions in French are pretty clear, but the English is curious. "Cook the noodles in boiling water for about 4 minutes. Then flush the noodles and drain." Flush the noodles? In French it says to "rinse" the noodles, not to send them down the toilet.
I'll never forget many years ago when our friend, CHM, got a new George Foreman Grill, a kitchen appliance. The translation of the instructions into French had us rolling on the floor with laughter. Like the directions for cooking filet de semelle. In English it was fillet of sole, but in French, une semelle is the sole of a shoe. Mmm, tasty! Then there was the non-baton surface, in English: a non-stick surface. But the French word baton means stick, like the kind that falls from trees. There were many other funny translations. I'm sure I can't remember them all.
There used to be a Polish commenter on my blog who was an English as a second language teacher in Poland. My goodness, that was a worry. Her written English was appalling and our friend who teaches English in Japan said the low standard of ESL teachers is quite common.
ReplyDeleteNatives should be used to teach their own languages, for the language and for the accent. Usually, it is my experience, Americans have less accent in French than Brits.
DeleteI, too, find these things so entertaining. I assume they’re done using automated translators, but we had an acquaintance in Sevilla who was an English teacher and professional translator who probably wouldn‘t do as good a job.
ReplyDeleteSt Maure.... over to your west, has a limping bell according to their English tourist leaflet....
ReplyDeleteAnd I leave Facebook's translator on period.... it gives me a laugh every morning as I catch up!!
I think that the vocabulary of the traducion robot.... was installed by another translation robot, who got it from a friend!
The not so fine difference between translation and interpretation, a machine can do one, a person who really knows both languages needs to do the other. I had a great interpreter do some work for me in 2020, really good.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask the internet for synonyms of Rinse, you get Flush with some others!
ReplyDeleteAI has been improving as time goes by.. If you need a very good automatic translation, try DEEPL.COM. I tried it from French into English and I was very pleased.
ReplyDeleteAt a local Asian Spa here in town, they had a list of their offered services painted on the storefront, lip wax, hair removal, etc. And one we never could figure out “no suck skin”.......
ReplyDeleteLiposuction, perhaps? It sounds awfully uncomfortable, whatever it is.
Deleteandrew, learning a second language is not easy, and learning it well enough to write, translate, or teach is even harder, IMHO.
ReplyDeletemitch, automated translators are getting better all the time. It won't be long before we won't be able to tell any more!
tim, so what was the original french for "limping bell?" I can't figure it out!
travel, I'm always impressed with simultaneous translators. What goes on in their heads that they can do that?
chm, you can find it all on the internet! LOL
lynn, that is odd. Maybe it's like an Asian menu. There's always something that doesn't translate. You just have to know. ;)
I subscribe to a puzzle magazine. It used to have a game where something in English is translated into another language and then translated literally back to English for you to guess the original. For example "Sandpile" by Frank Herbert.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to see English words used differently in other languages