[etni] Fw: More English Bloopers
- From: "Ask Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "Etni" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:57:01 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: Leonie Lachmish - simchagirls1@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: More English Bloopers
Lost in Translation
The list is endless : how about "mana acharona" translated on an Ashkelon
restaurant menu as "The final dose" ? Or "kaved off" as not just "heavy
chicken" but "Respect the Chicken" ?! Picture the heartwarming ceremony as
the diners pay their respects.
TV translations often say the opposite or bring in totally irrelevant
nonsense : On a TV series called "So Haunt Me", "My wife, bless her" was
translated as "Ishti, Lessa".
On BBC Prime's Kiss Me Kate, a wendy house became "bayit male ruchot" and
"you're wet" said to someone coming in from the rain , became "ata me'acher"
(=you're late).
And then the literal translations of sayings : "Out of the mouths of babes"
, the original Hebrew of which probably outdates the English by many
centuries, was unbelievably translated when a 14 year-old girl impressed Dr
Phil as "Mipi chatichot" !! Not exactly the way Dr Phil, of all people,
would relate to an articulate young female. It sometimes feels as though
the translator receives each word out of context and is denied full
sentences, let alone the transcript.
I've seen "No pun intended" translated as "bli kavanat zadon" or as "bli
kavana laasot mischak milim" - when there is no mischak milim in the Hebrew
translation !!!
But nothing beats the English translation on goods imported from China. Next
best to them is the Engrish.com site . If you've never visited it, you're in
for a treat.
Warning to pregnant ladies, especially : only visit this site on an empty
bladder.
Here's a sample :
http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=Shift2.jpg&category=Instructions&date=2002-10-21
Enjoy your summer break !
Leonie Lachmish
SINGLISH : Sing It In English; English musical shows for all ages and levels
: http://lachmish-hafakot.com/singlish/singlish1.htm
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