Life In 19x19
http://www.lifein19x19.com/

OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.
http://www.lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8942
Page 1 of 1

Author:  Bonobo [ Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:24 am ]
Post subject:  OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

Careful, you might explode with laughter.

22 Chinese Signs That Got Seriously Lost In Translation

Author:  Unusedname [ Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

I like 11.
I'm assuming it's translated like that because the word for life and dream are the same which is a nice thought.

Author:  EdLee [ Wed Aug 21, 2013 4:51 pm ]
Post subject: 

Unusedname wrote:
I'm assuming it's translated like that because the word for life and dream are the same...
They are not. :)

Author:  jts [ Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re:

EdLee wrote:
Unusedname wrote:
I'm assuming it's translated like that because the word for life and dream are the same...
They are not. :)

To be more specific, neither "life" nor "dream" is on the sign! :/

There are lots of theories about this sign on the internet: a super-archaic word for "taking a break," a confusion between the phrases for "resting" and "under construction", or maybe a colloquialism from a Wu region. At any rate, since it's not standard Mandarin, probably the machine translator choked on it.

When you see the whole set, you start to wonder if this is just a photoshop joke about the gullibility of internauts:

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m87aj ... o1_400.jpg
http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m87aj ... o2_500.jpg
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m87aj ... o3_400.jpg

Author:  TheBigH [ Sun Aug 25, 2013 8:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

#4 makes up in accuracy what it lacks in civility.

Author:  macelee [ Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

A few weeks ago I was visiting ChaoYang Park in Beijing, the location of the 2008 Olympic beach volleyball tournament. Nice sand and water park. But near the site there's a small restaurant having a sign saying 'Collect silver place', when it actually means 'cashier'.

Author:  EdLee [ Sun Aug 25, 2013 11:45 pm ]
Post subject: 

macelee wrote:
'Collect silver place', when it actually means 'cashier'.
:) Yes, they translated 收銀處 character by character, instead of as a whole term.

Incidentally,

1cashier. noun. one that has charge of money: as
a. a high officer in a bank or trust company responsible for moneys received and expended
b. one who collects and records payments
c. an employee (as in a store) who handles monetary transactions

2cashier. transitive verb.
1. to dismiss from service; especially: to dismiss dishonorably
2. reject, discard

In Chinese, 收銀處 actually refers to the location where payment is collected, not the person.
And if we try to reverse-translate cashier to Chinese (or another language),
then we run into the multiple definitions of cashier in English.
Translation is very difficult. :)

Author:  Bill Spight [ Sun Aug 25, 2013 11:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

Unusedname wrote:
I like 11.
I'm assuming it's translated like that because the word for life and dream are the same which is a nice thought.


Quote:
Toda la vida es suenno, y los suennos suennos son.

Author:  ez4u [ Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

Bill Spight wrote:
...
Quote:
Toda la vida es suenno, y los suennos suennos son.

Thank god for google. :scratch:

Author:  EdLee [ Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:48 am ]
Post subject: 

Quote:
Toda la vida es sueño, y los sueños sueños son.
Quote:
All life is a dream, and dreams are dreams.

Author:  Bonobo [ Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re:

EdLee wrote:
Quote:
Toda la vida es sueño, y los sueños sueños son.
Quote:
All life is a dream, and dreams are dreams.
So … you think we’re not even able to Goggle [sic!], mh? ;-)

Author:  Unusedname [ Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

Bill Spight wrote:
Unusedname wrote:
I like 11.
I'm assuming it's translated like that because the word for life and dream are the same which is a nice thought.


Quote:
Toda la vida es suenno, y los suennos suennos son.


Oh I read it as.

Every life is lucky and the lucky lucky [son?].

Quote:
Thank god for google. :scratch:

Author:  xed_over [ Mon Aug 26, 2013 7:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

Unusedname wrote:
Oh I read it as.

suerte - luck
sueño - sleep/dream

Author:  Bonobo [ Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: OK, now I understand why translations are so difficult.

A few more but some we already know from that other page.

Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/