A bad translation is funny until it happens to you!
Read the unfortunate translations below, have good laugh, then contact Pacolet International Translation, Inc. for your next translation or interpretation project. (By the way, we have personally found and collected these examples for you but NO! We did NOT do the bad translations.)
From a visitors guide in St. Petersburg, Russia: “Baltic Beer Fest: Come sample beers from several countries. Featuring both qualified and inebriated judges.”
A water park in Cancun, Mexico produced an English-language brochure which proudly proclaims on the front cover: “Let your wet dreams come true!”
If you shop for CD’s while traveling overseas you may be in for some surprises… The artists might too.
“Jazz recordings by Jazz legend Moles Davis” – A CD label in Russia
“Eric Crapton” – A CD label in Japan
“Dylans Bob Greatest Hits” – A CD label in Saudi Arabia
A physical therapist in Madison Wisconsin requested that a therapy report be translated into Spanish for one of her patients. The report title; “Summary of Gross Motor Skills” came back translated into Spanish saying; “Summary of disgusting motor skills” The translation went downhill from there.
A Chicago-area manufacturer of flavorings was adding a Spanish language page to their web site. Over and over the page mentioned “cola flavoring” and “cola flavored products.” The person who provided the original translation did not realize that the word “cola” means the equivalent of “butt” in many Spanish dialects. Readers found it hysterical. The flavoring manufacturer did not.
An international retail giant, with headquarters in Chicago, showed us a translation they had received as instructions for a television antenna kit they were planning to carry in their stores. The translation made us laugh until we cried and included the sentence: “F$@K the rod all the way into hole to attach.” (Really! We’re not kidding here! Glad we were able to fix that for them.)
Can your company afford the risk of working with a translator who is not a professional? Please see the “Contact Us” page and let Pacolet International Translation, Inc. review your next foreign language project.
