The woes of refusing to spend a buck on professional translation Thread poster: Nathaniel2
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We all meet up with bad translations, unfortunately quite often, but I generally try not to be gleeful at the misfortune of the victims of these translations. But I couldn't help myself with a recent "find" that I thought might evoke a smile out of those in need of one.
From a restaurant menu: Hamandeggs, garnishment; chickenbreast with flatcheesesause; Beefsteaks will be thermal prepared due to the wish of the customer; chickenkaricayenne hacked meat.
OK, enough. I hope at least som... See more We all meet up with bad translations, unfortunately quite often, but I generally try not to be gleeful at the misfortune of the victims of these translations. But I couldn't help myself with a recent "find" that I thought might evoke a smile out of those in need of one.
From a restaurant menu: Hamandeggs, garnishment; chickenbreast with flatcheesesause; Beefsteaks will be thermal prepared due to the wish of the customer; chickenkaricayenne hacked meat.
OK, enough. I hope at least some of you get a giggle out of this like I did. ▲ Collapse
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James McVay 
United States
Local time: 19:23
Russian to English
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| That reminds me . . . | Dec 1, 2009 |
. . . of a menu a friend saw in Iran some years ago. It listed one dish as "Different Stuff." That sounded intriguing, so my friend asked his English-speaking Iranian dining partner for an explanation. The answer he got was, "You know, different stuff." After having eaten several meals already in Iranian restaurants, my adventurous friend was ready for something different, so he ordered it. And to his surprise the dish turned out to be . . . several eggplants with different kinds of stuffin... See more . . . of a menu a friend saw in Iran some years ago. It listed one dish as "Different Stuff." That sounded intriguing, so my friend asked his English-speaking Iranian dining partner for an explanation. The answer he got was, "You know, different stuff." After having eaten several meals already in Iranian restaurants, my adventurous friend was ready for something different, so he ordered it. And to his surprise the dish turned out to be . . . several eggplants with different kinds of stuffing. ▲ Collapse
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| Barbecued Denmark | Dec 1, 2009 |
In Polish: Dania z grila
Because the same word form is both the plural for dishes or courses, and the the singular for Denmark in Polish, someone just used a Polish-English dictionary to translate it this way.
I'm sure no offense was meant for the Danish people, but visitor from Denmark may have been surprised by seeing their home country in the menu.
Regards,
Piotr
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David Russi
United States
Local time: 17:23
English to Spanish
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| Beefsteaks will be thermal prepared... chickenkaricayenne hacked meat | Dec 1, 2009 |
I really needed a laugh, and this did it: it just cracked me up!
Thanks!
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Andrea Shah
United States
Local time: 19:23
Portuguese to English
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| There's better salads to be had in Greece | Dec 2, 2009 |
Boiled salad was quite popular in the Athens area this past summer when I last visited.
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Ruth Braine
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:23
Arabic to English
| Peculiar Syrian tastes | Dec 2, 2009 |
I have come across Syrian menus offering 'Chechen fingers' (chicken), 'mashed aborigines' (aubergines) and 'flavoured herpes' (herbal teas)...
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| Love the Syrian Cuisine | Dec 2, 2009 |
I think it was at a Chinese restaurant in St Petersburg that I came across 'fried essence of fish smell', or some such delicacy!
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| Chicken to your pleasure | Dec 2, 2009 |
Here in Peru, when translating their menu, restaurant owners just take a ES>EN dictionary and "translate" word by word.
Things you will often find on the menu in Cusco are:
- Chicken to your pleasure (pollo al gusto)
- Chicken to the garden (polla a la jardinera)
- Pancakes with room (instead of rhum)
etc...
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Hester Eymers
Netherlands
Local time: 01:23
Member (2005)
English to Dutch
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| Oranges in a hurry | Dec 3, 2009 |
On a menu in Brussels it said: gehaaste sinaasappels, a very creative Dutch translation of the original French: oranges pressées. Oranges in a hurry instead of fresh orange juice.
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Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 01:23
French to German
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| In a trilingual country? | Dec 3, 2009 |
Hester Eymers wrote:
On a menu in Brussels it said: gehaaste sinaasappels, a very creative Dutch translation of the original French: oranges pressées. Oranges in a hurry instead of fresh orange juice.
Incredible!
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| Piotr, have you been to Mazuria? | Dec 3, 2009 |
Piotr Bienkowski wrote: In Polish: Dania z grila Because the same word form is both the plural for dishes or courses, and the the singular for Denmark in Polish, someone just used a Polish-English dictionary to translate it this way. I'm sure no offense was meant for the Danish people, but visitor from Denmark may have been surprised by seeing their home country in the menu. Regards, Piotr
I can tell you the name of the bar in Mikolajki, where they literally had this on their "English" menu.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 19:23
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| Check this out, see who will not laugh | Dec 4, 2009 |
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