Fun stuff | Musings from an overworked translator

TGIF: Banned commercial December 19, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.
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Do not click on this if you are one of those sensitive types. This video has crude language, but it is funny and the language is crucial to the video. It’s message is the importance of learning English. Enjoy!

TGIF: Mobile phones of the future December 12, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.
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This little clip is a fun Swedish skit about modern inventions in mobile phone technology. The comedy does not suffer despite the language barrier. Enjoy, and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Max Planck magazine mistakenly runs brothel ad on cover December 11, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Translation Sites.
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This translation error makes the “out of office” message in Welsh pale in comparison. The Max Planck Institute, a well-respected German research institute, mistakenly ran an ad for a Chinese brothel on its cover page while seeking to illustrate a special report on China with Chinese characters. The institute bought the picture of Chinese characters in good faith from a photo agency and had it checked by a Chinese speaker, who said it “looked good and didn’t appear to pose a problem.”

After it was published about five weeks ago on the cover page of the journal devoted to China, readers noticed that the text included a reference to an ad for “hot housewives in action” from a brothel in Northern China. Oops! That edition of the journal has since been recalled, and the institute has apologized to readers, a Max Planck spokeswoman said.

The institute quickly acknowledged their mistake and admitted they had not contacted a native speaker for verification. “To our sincere regret … it has now emerged that the text contains deeper levels of meaning, which are not immediately accessible to a non-native speaker,” the institute said in an apology. “By publishing this text we did in no way intend to cause any offense or embarrassment to our Chinese readers.”

If the institute hadn’t quickly admitted their fault in this, I could see this actually becoming the first case in which a “translator” might be sued – and rightly so. But obviously the person wasn’t a professional, because I would hope that a professional would have actually read and understood the text – native speaker or not.

For more information check out this article on the incident in German or this article in English. The English article is particularly informational and entertaining, particularly the last paragraph or two in which they talk about various forum comments.

A Maxine Christmas Story December 10, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.
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I don’t know about you all, but I could use a little levity at the moment. It’s been a rough couple of days. I’m still arguing over the word count with my client, but I finally went over my PM’s head and got someone looking into the problem who is familiar with the interface and immediately recognized the likely problem. This is the first time I’ve ever done something like that, but I wasn’t going to take a 10,000 word discrepancy lying down.

My mother sent me this this morning, which cheered me up. Hope it provides a chuckle for you as well. Maxine is one of my favorite Hallmark Cards characters. She’s crabby and cranky – and absolutely hilarious. She even has her own blog, called Hot Flash Central! I’m going to go add it to my feed reader right now… Enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas

And All through the house…
Not a creature was stirring Since the cat ate the mouse.

My support hose were hung By the chimney with care.
(I hung them last Christmas And just left them there.)

My dog, Floyd, was nestled All snug in his bed,
After watching the cat rip The presents to shreds.

And I in my long johns And ratty night cap
Had just settled my butt For a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn There arose such a clatter,
I swore at the window, “What the (blank) is the matter?”

I tore open the window, Not a second to tarry,
All ready to throw The noisemaker a berry.

A bright moon was lighting The new-fallen snow…
And I had a moon of my own Set to show.

Floyd was beside me, Paw pointing the way
Toward eight tiny reindeer Hitched up to a sleigh…

And a little old driver So cheery and quick,
I thought for a moment That I would be sick.

Like a bat out of…you know, His reindeer they came,
And I whistled and shouted And called them some names–

“Hey, Hornhead! Hey, Furface! Hey, Weiner and Turkey !
Yo, Klutzy and Mangy And Venison Jerky!

Stay off of my porch! Get away from my wall!
Now hit the road, hit the road, Hit the road, all!”

But as pedestrians before My old Buick, they fly
And head for high ground With great fear in their eyes,

So up to my rooftop The fleabags they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys And old Fruitcake Breath too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
Holes in my new shingles Made by each tiny hoof.

As I reached for my slingshot And a marble as well,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas Tumbled and fell.

He had a huge sack of Cheap junk on his back
And I whispered to Floyd, “Be prepared to attack.”

His eyes they were squinting, His toy bag was draggin’,
And I felt for a moment Like I’d soon be gaggin’.

He was dressed all in red. With a bell on his hat.
And a belt of black leather To hold back the fat.

A billowing pipe He clenched tight in his smile,
And the smell was like something Had been dead for awhile.

He had a broad face And a little round belly
That shook when I nailed him With a handful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, Well, actually porky,
And I laughed when I tripped him (He looked pretty dorky).

He was like a beached whale Unable to budge.
And he tasted good, too, If the dog was a judge.

I spoke not a word But went straight to my work–
A noogie, a wedgie, A cry of “You jerk!”

Until laying a finger Aside of his nose,
With a loud cry of “Uncle!” Up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to the sleigh And dragged in the toys,
Then he cried to the reindeer, “Get me out of here, Boys!”

And I had to exclaim As a slushball I tossed,
“Happy Christmas to all, And to all a Get Lost!”

But then, as I turned, I saw ‘neath the tree
Two gaily wrapped presents– One for Floyd, one for me.

A big bag of jerky Turned Floyd mighty chipper,
While for me was a pair Of brand-new bunny slippers.

I looked out the window, And hovering there,
Old Santa was winking From his sleigh in midair…

“Merry Christmas, Maxine!” He cried, full of cheer.
“Same to you, Pal!” I answered, “I’ll get you next year!”

TGIF: Fry & Laurie on Language December 5, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.
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Sorry about not getting this video up sooner. It’s been crazy here today. Here’s an old Fry & Laurie clip for you to enjoy. I’ve loved Hugh Laurie before he became House. I first saw him on Black Adder. If you’re only familiar with him on House I think you’ll be surprised how zany some of his characters are. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving! November 26, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Random musings.
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For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope that you’re able to take some time off and enjoy the day tomorrow with your family and friends. Here’s what I’m thankful for this year:

Family and friends
My health
My apartment
My Westie, who is always happy to see me and cuddles with me
Jacobs Kronung coffee with Coffeemate creamer
Milka chocolate
My blog readers
Clients who pay on time
The fact that I can earn a decent living as a translator

And as a little bonus to you all, here is an old B.C. comic strip in honor of the day. My thanks to Lee Wright, who sent it to me a year or two ago:

Amazon.com’s Universal Wish List November 25, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Tech tips.
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I should be translating my 3,000 word legal document, but instead I find myself taking long breaks to add to my Amazon Wish List for my family (Amazon sells Tom Tom navigation systems and accessories…). I already have 1,000 words done and it isn’t even noon, so I’m not panicked yet. I broke out my 2 GB memory stick with all my Christmas music this morning and am typing this to the vocal stylings of Andy Williams, so I’m now in Christmas mode. 🙂

Did you know that you can add items from any website to your Amazon Wish List? It’s easy! Simply drag the Universal Wish List button to your browser toolbar, and start shopping. When you see something you’d like on any website, just click the Add to Universal Wish List button, and the item will appear on your Amazon Wish List. Then all you have to do is send the link to your Wish List to your family and friends so they know what you want for Christmas, birthdays, etc. No more unwanted gifts!

The Art of Translation on NPR November 24, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Translation Sites.
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NPR published an interesting article/podcast on Saturday about the art of literary translation. Thanks to JLibbey of pandltranslations, who just started following me on Twitter and brought this to her/his followers’ attention. I liked it so much I posted it to my Facebook account for my friends to read and learn a little bit about what I do and the hurdles we face as translators. After all, a good translation needs to be true to the original and able to stand on its own for a new audience, and that is why there can be different translations of various books published. The example NPR uses is Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, among others. The thing NPR stresses is how translation is not literal and how much is truly involved in translating texts, which I think is a good message for its readers/listeners to hear.

TGIF: In honor of the first major snowfall of the year November 21, 2008

Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.
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Since we are supposed to get up to a foot of snow here in Cleveland overnight I am posting one of my favorite snow-related videos. I hope this doesn’t happen to you this winter. Is it Christmas yet? It sure feels like it somehow…