Posts Tagged ‘politics’
Presidential Mistranslations
Whenever a U.S. president commits a translation error, it is likely to make the news. Here are some errors involving sitting U.S. presidents: Barack Obama Cinco de Cuatro? - On May 4th, 2009, President Barack Obama tried his luck at humor in another language. The Washington Times reported: "For scheduling reasons, he planned to observe the [...]
Urban Legends about Translation
When people read the translation bloopers posted here, they often volunteer to share one that they've previously heard. It is usually one of about a dozen alleged mistranslations that have been popularized on the internet and in dozens of books about international business. These are the same funny anecdotes that most of us in the translation [...]
No Pass for Gas Translation | Kazakh Translation Error
Two weeks ago, Kazakhstan Today ran the following news story on the English version of its website: Passing gas is Kazakhstan's property Astana. March 12. Kazakhstan Today - The head of state, Nursultan Nazarbayev, assigned to work on transfer of passing gas to the state ownership at the meeting with the regional akims concerning realization [...]
Hillary Clinton Presents Mistranslation to Russia
One year ago, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton experienced enormous public embarrassment when presenting a mistranslated gift to Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Clinton attempted to symbolize a "resetting" of the relationship between the two countries when presenting Lavrov with a gift-wrapped red button, labeled "Reset" in English [...]
Welsh Sign Baffles Many | Government Translation Error
Only a couple years ago, according to news published and televised by the BBC, a local authority in Wales sent an email to a language service provider requesting translation of a public sign from English to Welsh. The English read, "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only". The local authority received a response in Welsh and [...]
Translation Bloopers: Subscribe Today via Email!
Orem, UT (PRWEB) January 12, 2010 -- Globalization Group, Inc. (GGI) announces the weekly publication of translation bloopers. Users of translation services can receive a free email subscription to international mistranslations and blunders. “This year localization professionals began signing up for our Weekly Translation Tips to achieve [...]
President Jimmy Carter’s Overly Friendly Polish Interpreter
This week’s blooper actually comes from spoken interpretation instead of written translation. Thirty two years ago, the US State Department made the mistake of sending a non-native Polish speaker to interpret for US President Jimmy Carter on his trip to Poland. The interpreter was previously used by the State Department for interpretation and [...]
