Examples of Bad Translations
Here are some examples of what you likely do NOT want to end up with when employing the services of a translation agency.
Rest assured, none of these translation nightmares were created by eWorld Translations. Rather, every once in a while we are asked to fix what some other entity has quite obviously botched up.
This is a photocopy taken directly from a toy helicopter’s user manual. It stands to reason that “Saft” here serves as a creative spelling of “Safety”.
Photo by retinaburn
Did the manufacturer really speak of incest in the original product name and/or description of the above item?
Photo by Publisyst Comunicaciones
Photo by mrpeachum
Both the German and the Swedish translation above leave a lot to be desired.
Photo by fletch182
Photo by Halden Teng
Not sure what the translator of the above gem might have been smoking …
Photo by fauousplatitudes
Both the English and the German version of the above instructions are rather cryptic.
Photo by mrwilleeumm
Hm, where are the revolutionaries to whom this sign apparently is addressed? Buried underneath all the snow?
Photo by banjaxx
Somebody must have been in a hurry getting the sign posted. Otherwise they would have taken the time to check if the two sentences of the Welsh message ( “I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated.”) they received in response to their email request for translation were a translation of said two sentences or just (as it turns out) an auto-reply.
Screen shot by Animaux
Even this large company’s translation could not avoid some QA pitfalls.
Photo by Marcin Wichary
Here, too, a bit more quality assurance, e. g. proofreading would have helped to avoid the pitfalls of multiple meanings: the German term “Haftung” in English could be “liability” or “adhesion”, depending on context.
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