eWorld Translations

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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.

bad-translations01

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”.

by retinaburn

Photo by retinaburn

Did the manufacturer really speak of incest in the original product name and/or description of the above item?

by Publisyst Comunicaciones

Photo by Publisyst Comunicaciones

Photo by mrpeachum

Photo by mrpeachum

Both the German and the Swedish translation above leave a lot to be desired.

Photo by fletch182

Photo by fletch182

Photo by Halden Teng

Photo by Halden Teng

Not sure what the translator of the above gem might have been smoking …

Photo by fauousplatitudes

Photo by fauousplatitudes

Both the English and the German version of the above instructions are rather cryptic.

Photo by mrwilleeumm

Photo by mrwilleeumm

Hm, where are the revolutionaries to whom this sign apparently is addressed? Buried underneath all the snow?

Photo by banjaxx

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

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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To discuss your translation needs, give us a call toll-free at +1-888-398-4968, or use the free quote form in the sidebar to the right, or email us at info@eworldtranslations.com or provide more detailed information on our contact form.

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