Comments on: Translation Bloopers – there have been some doozies, especially in Chinese it seems

By: admin

admin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 01:12:40 +0000

There are some great Chinese dishes too which have been translated to something inedible: government abuse chicken (gongbaoji), burnt lions head (hongshao zhizi tou), husband and wife lung slices (fuqi feipian) and chicken without sex life (tongziji). When ‘translated’ to the boring: sauteed chicken with peanuts and spring chicken and similar – they just don’t sound inspiring, do they!

By: Craig Skinner

Craig Skinner — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:45:58 +0000

Food dishes seem to provide some of the most interesting translation errors. One memorable dish from an APEC Forum luncheon in Suzhou a couple of years ago was “cowboy steak”. I think the whole menu had been run through a machine translation.

By: Barbara McLure

Barbara McLure — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:15:22 +0000

I really enjoy the short and sharp hints that Chin Communications provides. They give me insight and knowledge, right to my desk, which are knowledgable and easy to read. The bloopers and humour on the website are great examples of how careful you need to be when doing translations. It is not an easy job – something I found out when delivering a two hour presentation to a group of visiting Chinese educators recently.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:29:27 +0000

Love the translation bloopers on the website; just like Spicks and Specks on the ABC – using online translation technology is a cause for comedy. You certainly wouldn’t want to use it for important business purposes – who knows, you might end up as “eternal lesser typist” or “pig”!