TGIF: A Wicked Deception June 22, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.4 comments
I posted this video back in July 22, 2008, but it deserves some fresh attention. It’s just too funny to languish in the archives.
This film by Matt Sloan capitalizes on Babelfish for its dialog. It translates from English into French and German, then back into English. It was filmed on location in Trouville, France. Enjoy!
“I want to neglect the remainder of my life with you!”
Accurapid Translation Journal June 18, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Translation Sites.2 comments
The July issue of the Accurapid Translation Journal is out, featuring Chris Durban’s Fire Ant & Worker Bee advice column and (of particular interest for those interested in becoming a translator) Danilo Nogueira’s Letter to a Would-be Translator. The Translation Journal features a total of eighteen feature articles by authors from Brazil to Iran and China, and access is free of charge and you don’t have to register. Enjoy!
Bonus TGIF cartoon June 15, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.2 comments
This reflects my current mindset. I’ve been going through a phase in which I started doubting whether I should continue as a freelancer. This Adam@Home cartoon speaks to me.
TGIF: Epic translation fail June 15, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.12 comments
I’m glad there are no videos of me teaching German out there. This poor woman…
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Lost in Google Translate: U.S. show’s attempt at Hebrew runs afoul June 14, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.2 comments
It’s a busy day for international translation blooper news.
The Israeli news website Haaretz.com is reporting that the Showtime show “Episodes,” which stars Matt LeBlanc (formerly from “Friends”) featured a Jewish headstone in a recent episode. Apparently the show’s producers used that wonderful, all-knowing, never-failing translation tool Google Translate to write the caption. As the article explains, “In the third episode of the U.S.-British co-production’s second season, one of the scenes takes place in a cemetery, where a headstone is visible and inscribed in both English and what appears to be an attempt at Hebrew, reading “Beloved husband and father, dearly missed. However, the Hebrew text was both written in reverse and badly translated, as blogger Shahar Golan pointed out: “At first the Hebrew words did not make any sense, until I realized the letters were in reverse order: left to right, instead of right to left.”” Apparently they wanted to say ‘he will be dearly missed’ but the literal translation into Hebrew was ‘he was pickled at great expense.‘ Good on Shahar Golan for catching it and writing about it on his blog. Thanks to Rina Ne’eman of Hebrew Language Services for sharing this with us on Facebook!
Translation is even important on the Stock Exchange June 14, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.3 comments
As one of my friends commented on Facebook this morning, “I was wondering how long it would take this Spanish company to realize that their stock wasn’t selling well in America.” This just goes to show you how important having a good translator (or at least someone who is well-versed in both cultures) is. Apparently, Banco Santander, S.A. has announced it is changing its NYSE ticker from STD to SAN effective with commencement of trading this morning. Apparently no investors wanted to buy STDs.
Oops, Tesco forgot to consult a translator… June 12, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.3 comments
Photo from The Daily Mail
Folks at the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, were embarrassed after an Italian student who is studying in England pointed out that there were numerous offensive phrases in a picture of Italian meats on the packaging of their Italian spaghetti bolognaise. Tesco has since apologized and confirmed the other words innocently describe wild boar, buck, deer and goose meats, but revealed the naughty truth about Coglioni di Mulo and Le Palle de Nonno. Guess they should have asked a native speaker before using the photo. Be sure to read the article for more information (a second article can be read here). Thanks to Robin Bonthrone for sharing the articles.
Musings from an overworked translator 