Posts Tagged ‘quirky’
Mistranslation as a Virtue?
Mistranslation can cause physical or financial harm, as illustrated by many anecdotes on this blog. However, we must admit that mistranslation will - in extremely rare instances - be perceived as a virtue by some. For example, some U.S. restaurant patrons like to see poorly translated menus in ethnic restaurants because they then assume the [...]
Poll: Top Translation Blunders of 2010
Translation blunders made news throughout the year 2010. By translation blunders, we are not referring to urban legends like President John F. Kennedy's alleged slip-up saying "I am a jelly doughnut" - that never happened. Nor are we referring to Dave Barry's satirical claim, "The CEO of Toyota appears before a congressional committee and [...]
World Cup Translation Bloopers Inspire Poetry
The 2010 FIFA World Cup Translation Bloopers have inspired the poem "2010 World Cup Cultural Dunce Awards," by Rachel Hoyt. The poem includes mention of multilingual cursing, FIFA's Slovak/Slovene confusion, the infamous Korean fan jersey, and Socceranto. Follow the link to "2010 World Cup Cultural Dunce Awards" and read more by poet [...]
World Cup Translation Bloopers
The New York Times recently noted that at least 17 languages are spoken by 32 teams at the 2010 World Cup, and FIFA referees have supposedly been brushing up on cursing in those languages so they know when to eject a player for committing the offense of "Using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures." Even in an international [...]
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 [...]
Cry Translator iPhone App
Yes, "there is an app for that." Geek.com reports that the Cry Translator is available on the App Store for $9.99. The app not only provides a "translation" but also suggests appropriate responses. Clinical studies have shown the Cry Translator can decipher the broad meaning of a baby's cry with 96 percent accuracy.
Avatar Invents Na’Vi Language
Paul Frommer, a professor of linguistics at the University of Southern California has invented an entirely new language called Na'Vi. The language was created for James Cameron's new blockbuster movie, Avatar, much like Elvish was created for J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy and Klingon was created for Star Trek. Learn more about the [...]
Translation Projected onto Retina
The NEC Telescouter may soon project machine translation directly onto a user's retina. Read more here on the T&I Business Blog.
Translation Party Pokes Fun at Free Machine Translation
Read about the amusing time waster called Translation Party on the T&I Business Blog.
