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• Translator reaction - Translator reaction | Reaksi penerjemah
• Peanut rate and service - There is always someone willing to do it cheaper.
• Low- vs high-rate projects | Translation Meme - Occupational motivation in low- vs high-rate translation project
• Nokia Lumia case - "Lumia" means light with a positive connotation in English and Latin, but it also means prostitute in one of Spanish dialects. Nokia language researchers, which....
• Ford Pinto / Corcel case - English In 1971, Ford introduced new product, named “Pinto”, derived from the pinto horse. In contrast to Ford expectation, Brazilians differently viewed the product, because “Pinto” in Brazil meant penis. This language problem resulted in low sales of the car in Brazil. Following investigation, Ford changed the product name to Corcel, which meant ‘horse,’ for …
• Alarm door - The more accurate translation should be "Alarm door."
• Choose your spice level - The correct translation should be "Choose your spice level."
• Bom dia – Good morning – Nuke it - "Bom dia" means ....
• Fire extinguisher - Hand grenade? LoL The correct translation should be "Fire extinguisher."
• Poorly-researched label: Cemen Dip - This label triggers a negative image. Dip is a liquid into which something is dipped, whereas cemen means the viscid, whitish fluid produced in and sprayed from the male reproductive organs, containing spermatozoa. In contrast to the label, it is a food product, which has nothing to do with reproductive organ and sperm. Then, the product label is misguiding and embedding wrong idea about the product. I always suggest involvement of a real translator in product wording.
• Pee & Poo case -
• “Pou” or “Pow” -
• Watch your step -
• Warning! Vicious dog! Its owner is worse! - I often see sign "Warning! Vicious dog!" but I have never seen a sign "Warning! Vicious dog! Moreover its owner".
• Beef Tongue Stroganoff - Языка in this context is not language, but a tongue. The correct translation, then, should be "Beef Tongue Stroganoff."
• Magic of Illusion - Магиа and фокусов means magic and trick. Literally, магиа фокусов means magic of trick, but the correct translation in English should be magic of illusion. CMIIW
• Handmade -
• Sneaker - Snickers or sneakers?
• Porn or corn? -
• 5 years - Children under 5 inches? Impossible. It should be "children under 5 years", judging from its co-texts.
• Before driving away, remove gas nozzle from the tank - The sign is literally translated as "Before starting to move, ensure the gas nozzle not in the tank" and correctly translated as "Before driving away, remove the gas nozzle from the tank!" Lexical meaning of "пистолет" is pistol or pistol-like thing. Its co-texts, i.e. "перед началом двмжениа" (before starting to move) and "в баке" (in the tank), suggest that the pistol-like thing is gas pump nozzle or gas nozzle.
• Don’t throw rubbish in the toilet. Put it in the bins provided - The correct translation should be "Don't throw any trash in the toilet. Put it in the bins provided."
• Water ski - It should be translated as "water ski". "Water sky" means "langit air" in Indonesian.
• Very cheap and good rooms for many guests - I think, they want to say "We have very cheap and good rooms for many guests."
• Beach volleyball - The correct translation should be "Beach volleyball".
• Shooting range - "Shooting range", "shooting field", and "shooting yard", each of which has different meanings, are translated as "lapangan tembak" in Indonesian. This public sign possibly refers to shooting range.
• Conversational Indonesian - Conversational Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) that is used on a daily basis by Indonesians is very different than what foreigners may learn in a formal course. A reason for this phenomenon is that approximately 1,000 ethnic and sub-ethnic languages and dialects influenced their respective ethnic members in speaking conversational Bahasa Indonesia. When Indonesians write, they likely …
• Tennis court - "Tennis court", instead of "tennis", is comparable to "lapangan tenis".
• Perlu terjemahan sewajarnya ke penerjemah - Orang perlu sehat, sewajarnya pergi ke dokter. Orang perlu obat, sewajarnya pergi ke apoteker. Orang perlu terjemahan, sewajarnya pergi ke penerjemah.
• Politeness characterizes people of knowledge - The correct translation should be "Politeness characterizes people of knowledge."
• Happy praying - It should correctly be translated as "Happy praying" instead of "congratulation blah blah blah."
• I am ashamed of being late - The correct translation should be "I am ashamed of being late". Despite an affordable professional translation service, some business entities hired an amateur translation service at peanut rate.
• The guest house’s commodity price list - The translation does not make a sense. It should be "The guest house's commodity price list."
• “Public phone” instead of “Pubic phone” - It should be written as "Public Phone" instead of "Pubic Phone". "Public" means "accessible to or shared by all members of the community", whereas "pubic" means "of, relating to, or near the sexual organs".
• Megapussi : Poorly-researched product name - "Megapussi" sounds like "Megapussy" (Mega pussy). "Pussy" in English slang means "vagina" and "coward". It is the reason for individuals chuckling once they read it. The product name was obviously poorly researched, while, in fact, the manager simply got in touch with a professional translator(s) and had him, her, or them to do research in a global cultural, linguistic, literary, and translation fields of expertise.
• Data room - Data room (Ind. Ruang Data) is not Date Room (Ind. Ruang Kencan).
• For male and female - "Mail" and "femail" should be written as "male" and "female", respectively.
• Please close the door - Hi, Door!!! 😀 Funny.... The correct expression should be "Please close the door."
• Please queue - "Antri" in Indonesian is equivalent with "queue" in English. Hence, "mohon antri" should be translated as "please queue" instead of "entry please."
• Aloe vera, not Crocodile’s tongue - This plant has Indonesian name "Lidah Buaya". "Lidah" and "buaya" in Indonesian are comparable to "tongue" and "crocodile", respectively, in English. Nevertheless, its English name is Aloe vera instead of Crocodile tongue. Replacing a word for a word is not translation.
• Sunny-side up egg or fried egg, not cow’s eye egg - Its name in Indonesia is "telur mata sapi". Telur = egg; mata = eye ; sapi = cow. But, the correct translation is "Friend egg" and is not "Cow's eye egg". Translation is not to replace a word for a word.
• Closed. Emergency exit only. - Three Russian sentences in picture literally mean "Sorry! Exit closed. It is used for evacuation." However, this literal translation is awkward in English. The correct translation should be "Closed. Emergency exit only."
• We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused - "Приносим извинения" means "We apologize", whereas "доставленные неудобста" literally means "delivered inconveniences". Hence, "Приносим извинения за доставленное неудобсто" literary means "We apologize for delivered inconveniences". This literal translation is comparable to English expression "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." Then, the correct translation should be "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
• The House of Youth - "Дом" refers to "house". Then, " Дом Молодежи" should be translated as "The House of Youth"
• Pirogov’s Clinic - The translator confused between "им" (to them, them) and "им.", abbreviated from имени (named after). Literal translation of "клиника им. Н. И. Пирогова" is a clinic named after N.I. Pirogov, whereas the correct one should be "N. I. Pirogov's Clinic" or "Pirogov's Clinic".
• Shower - The translator confused between душ (shower) and душа (soul). The correct translation of душ should be shower, not soul. Moreover, "Время работы" should be translated as "working time" instead of "time work" as well as a.m and p.m should be removed if you use 24-hour time system.
• Shoe repair and production of key - "Ремонт обуви" means shoe repair, whereas "изготовление ключей" means production of key.
• Please clean up my room! - How to remove the room? 😀 "Убрать" in this context means make up, clean up, or "tidy up" that "Просба убрать номер" should be translated as "Please clean up room" or "Please make up room" or "Please tidy up room".
• Please, make up my room! - Considering context, "номер" refers to room instead of number. "Пожалуйста, уберите мой номер!" in this context should be translated as "Please make up my room!" or "Please clean up my room!"
• Please don’t disturb! - "Please don't disturb!" should be the correct translation of "Просьба не безпокоить" in this context. Is this translated using CAT? This tool has its own danger, i.e., a translator is blinded to co-text and context of a target sentence, resulting in mistranslation. Being aware of weakness of the tool, I never use CAT tool for high-rate projects or VIP clients.
• Sorry, we’are closed! - The correct translation of "Извините у нас закрыто!" is "Sorry, we'are closed!" Its awkward and uncommon literal translation is "Sorry, closed by us".
• Осторожно!!! Опасные животные - The correct translation should be "Осторожно!!! Опасные животные"
• No Smoking - Sign "курение запрещенно" should be correctly translated as "No Smoking", although its literal translation is "Smoking Forbidden".
• Baby diaper change - It should be translated as "Baby diaper change". You know, the way leading to professionalism in translation industry is very difficult, painful, and, sometimes, shameful.
• Kids’ haircut - Children cutting! Who would give his or her children to be cut? LoL The correct translation should be "Kids' haircut", instead of "children cutting".
• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner - The advertisement is semantically unacceptable. It should be translated as "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner"
• Blood, stool, urine, semen, and pregnancy tests are available here - The correct translation should be....
• Beggars, not Baggers - The correct translation should be "Please don't encourage beggars or Ludhiana will be a City of Beggars within 3 years. Please cooperate with Punjab Police. Municipal Corporation"
• Pelvic Examination or, also termed as, Vaginal Examination - "Cunt Examination" sounds like a porn video title. The correct translation in medical field should be "Pelvic Examination" or, also termed as, "Vaginal Examination".
• Features: Free Wifi - The correct translation should be....
• Handwork - "Hand job" in English slang means woman- or girl-aided masturbation, whereas "handwork" means work done by hand, not by machine. Considering "nails & spa" and business logo, it offers manually beauty care. Hence, it should be translated as "Handwork", instead of "Hand job". Hiring a pro translator to do literary, linguistic, translation, and cultural research warrants to prevent you from similar miserable mistakes.
• Who do want to drink Pee Cola? - Negative product image originates in its name "Pee", which means urine in English slang. Marketers should answer one hard question: Who do want to buy and drink Pee Cola? I suggest that a business entity hires a professional translator to do product-related language research covering linguistic, literary, and cultural aspects.
• Don’t be careless! You are at your own risk! - It should be better translated as "CAUTION Don't be careless! You are at your own risk!"
• It possibly means: Keep our base beautiful! - "Butt" or "Butts" in English slang means "buttock", "ass", "anus", and "gun" (in English slang, "gun" refers to literal gun and metaphoric gun, i.e. "penis"). So, persons, which know English slang, will chuckle once they notice this sign. Considering the context, it probably means "Keep our base beautiful!"
• Crab Stick - In English slang, "crap" means shit or feces. So, "crap stick" means shit or feces in form of stick. Ironically, this dirty image pops up once visitors of the restaurant read menu. Never underestimate mistranslation in business! Considering its context, the correct translation should be "Crab stick".
• Bath Room. Save water and don’t pee inside! - The correct translation should be "BATH ROOM. Save water and don't pee inside!"
• Flight No. - It should be translated as "Flight No.". Customs declaration has nothing to do with fight.
• Cooking with Poow - Mistranslation above created negative image as if she teaches in her book how to cook using feces as flavor, because "Poo" in English means shit, crap, or feces.. Hufff...!  
  In contrast to the misleading image, "Poo" in the cover book is her nick name in Thailand. (Aha!) As a professional translator, what will you do to avoid her from negative image while keeping her nick name? The solution is to modify her nickname into "Poow". Why did her translator not apply this translation technique?
• TOILET. LADIES & GENTS - "TOILET → LADIES & GENTS"
• Those who only order corn are prohibited to sit inside - It should be translated as "Those who only order corn are prohibited to sit inside".
• Soup for Sluts. How do you sell it? - "Sluts" means slovenly or promiscuous women. Now, what do you do to sell this mistranslated product to ordinary people other than sluts? Can you polish such negative product image? Maybe, you can, but it will be difficult, costly, and time-consuming. Good products always engages in careful translation process by a professional translator.
• Roast duck - How is a duck suckling? Does duck mom have breast and nipple? Suckling duck means "Bebek Netek" in Bahasa Indonesia. LoL The correct translation of "Bebek Guling" should be "Roast Duck", instead of "Suckling Duck".
• Cakes in the ass? LoL Cake in assortment - Cakes in the ass? LoL "Пирожние в асс" should be translated as "Cakes in assortment" or "Assortment of cake", instead of "Cake in the ass."
• Please don’t eat food you brought from outside - This mistranslation means "Please, don't eat food you brought from outside"
• Panties Pizza? What the hell! - "Panties" in English slang means female underwear or, Indonesian, "celana dalam cewek". What the hell pizza!! It is very hot for sure! 😀 Mistranslation in business potentially runs your brand image, makes you look like an amateur, and badly hurts your reputation.
• Stairs closed - "Проход по леснице запрещен" should be translated as "stairs closed". Literally, it means "Passage through stairway is prohibited", which is not a common expression in English. The common one is "Stairs closed".
• Don’t burn the grass!! - It should be translated as "Don't burn the grass!!" Why? Because "to smoke the grass" in English slang means "to smoke marijuana". The picture shows a literal grass, instead of "grass" in the sense of marijuana. Then the correct translation should be "Don't burn the grass".
• It is banana, instead of curved yellow fruit - It is not curved yellow fruit. It is banana! 🙂
• Open 24 hours - The correct translation should be "GROCERY STORE opens 24 hours"
• Ice cream in assortment - Who is interested in an ice cream in the ass? Annoying image immediately pops up in your head, right? And that negative image? Who want to buy it? The correct translation of "марроженое в асс." is ice cream in assortment, instead of ice cream in the ass. Correct translation is critically and decisively important for International marketing.
• Mild coffee - "Tasteless" means distasteful, unappetizing, uninteresting, and unpleasurable. How can this negative impression call visitors to buy the product? Positive image of product name is important, isn't it? Then, the correct translation should be "Mild Coffee".
• Beware danger! Keep safe! - Semantically, the translation is unacceptable. It should be translated as "Beware danger! Keep safe!"
• Complaints about elephants? Its nose too long? Its ear too big? Its body too huge? - Complaint about elephants? Its nose too long? Its ears too big? Its body too huge? Funny.... 😀 Depending on the surrounded context, it can be translated as "elephant-ride service" or "elephant show".
• Take care your children! Be careful not to fall into water! - What a pity child... (T_T) Do you think that translation is easy-peasy job? Wrong translation potentialy costs human life! The warning should be translated as "Take care your children! Be careful not to fall into water!"
• I love kitty - It should be translated as "I love kitty", instead of "I love pussy". Why? Thesaurus says that "pussy" is synonymous with "cat", isn't it? Yes. Unfortunately, Thesaurus does not include English slang. In English slang, "pussy" means....
• Horny care? Do you mean “skin care”? - Some entities underestimate translation and wait for the moment when public make fun of them due to the attitude.
• “Sausage dough” -
• Have fun, happy biking, and have a nice day! -
• If not now, then when? If not me, then who? -  
• Report suspicious and disruptive activity to airport security! -
• Picturesque cottage -
• Slow Down! Watch for children! -
• SLOW DOWN! Accident Zone -
• Keep off drugs -