Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Lost in Translation.......

Hi everybody, thank you from the bottom of my heart, for all your kind words. You people are very comforting indeed. I think it's time for some gradual therapy for the G-man...
For the last several posts, we have had some fun with the translated word, thanks mostly to the beautiful and talented Mona. But not all translated words and phrases come out like they should..Here are a few, that came out a little askew....

I China, KFC's slogan " Finger Licking Good", was translated as "Eat Your Fingers Off"!!
And the phonetic adaptation of Coca-Cola was "Bite The Wax Tadpole"...
( I think thats my new catch phrase..Bite the Wax Tadpole..Chode face! )

In Taiwan, Pepsi's " Come Alive With Pepsi" came out as "Pepsi Will Bring Your Ancestors Back From The Dead"...

Japans 2nd largest tourist agency, had to change it's name because it was attracting very strange callers, it's name was...Kinki Nippon Tourism.

When Pope John Paul II visited Miami, the Spanish section of town had T-Shirts printed up for his arrival. They were supposed to say, "I saw the Pope". Instead they all read "I saw the Potato"...

Braniff Airlines once wanted to promote the fact that they had comfortable leather seats.
But when the ad campain for Hispanic speaking people, used a slang term for leather...It also meant a persons hide as well, it came out as.."Fly Braniff in the Nude"..

A frozen food Mfr. used the word Barruda to describe it's burrito line. They didn't realize that it was a slang term for ' Huge Mistake '!

In one of it's shoe commercials, Nike showed a Kenyan Runner looking into the camera and speaking in his native language of Maa, he was supposed to have said" Just Do It" .
But what he really said was, "I Don't Want These, Give Me Bigger Ones"..

The Swedish Company that makes Electrolux Vaccuum Cleaners, once tried to market them in Europe by saying..."Nothing Sucks Like an Electrolux"...That never hit the airwaves!!

And Finally, what macho Brazilian male would have driven a Ford Pinto? That happens to be a Portuguese slang term for" small male genitals". In Brazil, Ford changed the name to "Corcel", which means horse!

I'm so glad we don't have that problem here in Blogland, aren't you? Enjoy this beautiful day everyone..... Peace......... Galen.

32 comments:

Mona said...

Galen...
These are so funny! :)
Yes translation robs phrases of their true essence
But they dont have to be translated like this
they have to be SEMANTICALLY CORRECT
where the essence and the meaning are retained...

Mona said...

for example, if you want to translate in hindi " This sentence is greek & latin to me" you actually have to translate a sentence which spells like " this sentence is beyond my comprehension" which will make it like "yeh jumla meri samajh ke baahar hai" Yeh= this, Jumla= sentence, meri= my, samajh= understanding, ke baahar hai= beyond.
You find no mention of the words grrek or latin in the translated version, because it is semantically translated.
Language is used for comprehension, so we translate the meaningful aspect of the sentence not literal translation of words themselves.

barman said...

Yep that is me, Pinto ... I mean Corcel! :)

Love your catch phrase:

Bite the Wax Tadpole..Chode face!

I need to remember that for future use.

G-Man said...

Mona...Language is starting to seem an awful lot like math to me.
I can't even start to comprehend how smart you must be to get this.
Thank You Mona for the last two days...You know what I mean!!
Translate this for me please...
My home, is your home!

G-Man said...

Mornin Bryan, Funny you called on me..
I'm headed to Tim's right now, Senior Corcel!
Later....G

CozyMama said...

this is great and sorry to hear about your dog. that is very sad. I had to put down a dog once due to parvo and i cried and cried it was horrible. he was still a puppy and it hit him FAST.

morning - got a little something for you over on my blog.

G-Man said...

Mornin Jodi!
Nice to see you sweetie!
Second!Grrrrrrrrrrr...

Melodie Norman Haas said...

Goooooooood Morning!
Quarter end is wrapping up so I am reappearing lol.
Sorry to hear about your puppy. My Dad had to take my old cat for his final ride back my senior year of highschool and I think I cried more for my dad than the kitty.
As for translation problems, we have those here in the States as well...in the south you go into a store and get a buggy, in the midwest you go into a store and get a cart, ask for the opposite in either place and you will get a funny look! LOL there are many more but I don't have time to tell them all...like Soda, Soda Pop and Coke LOL

Ohhh and going up north and asking for sweet tea...ya'll still haven't gotten that right! ;)

G-Man said...

Hi Miss Melodie,
I know a Southern one.
Peanuts! All nuts in a can or package that you eat as a snack, are peanuts..Whether they are almonds or cashews.
Peanuts!
I'm sure glad your back!
G xoxox

Mona said...

O that one is easy galen..It is just the same way we use it here : 'Mera ghar, tumhara ghar' mera as you know is my, ghar is house, tumhara is your's.
If it is to be translated in other languages, then we will again take the semantic aspect which will translate as " consider my home as your home" or, : " feel at ease in my house as you would in your's" Or in a wider sense " consider what is mine as your's too"

Anonymous said...

as mr spock would say "fascinating"
good stuff!
Even in bloggerville our words can be misinterpetated because of the lack of being able to hear the inflection of our voice.
Have a great day sir galen.
tc

S said...

Bite the wax tadpole chodface.

maaaachoding what?

I just feel like saying choad..and, was wondering what it will be like when all of blogland uses that word! LOL cracks me up so baddddd!

jillie said...

OMG...where do you find this stuff...LOL I can always look to you to give me a little bit more bounce in my step...

xoxo

SIMON said...

They are great G.
I think we do have slight probs in blogland - different spellings and calling arses, asses but don't forget our name for a pussy is a fanny. Imagine my horror to see for sale a fanny bag! WTF!
Same language I sometimes wonder!

cathy said...

chod is definitely the new black of blogland's lexicon!

I had a problem with literal translations when I first came to Greece, for instance a phrase that means "hi mate,how are you?" was shouted to my husband by his friend and as far as I could tell he was saying "hey big,what is it?"

All fairly innocent but on one memorable occasion I was trying to explain to my mother in law, at a crowded beach, that Nivea cream is a skin softener not a suncream. alas much to my husband's consternation what I actually said was "that is not suncream it's wanking cream", thank all the Gods that my mother in law has a sense of humour.

lime said...

erm...what about the fact that 'nova' in spanish means...it doesn't go. hahahahaha

though i hasten to add my little nova was the best buggy i ever had.

Cha Cha said...

We brew our own Sweet Tea where I work.

I live in Chicago.

It's soooooooooo choding good.


Ms. Mona,

It doesn't matter WHAT you are teaching us...you're still spectacular at it!


Galen,

Can I borrow your catchphrase? I'll use it in separate circles.

javajazz said...

choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding
choding choding choding choding

do you think we've seen enough
of this word yet?

GAB said...

I remember reading those some where before, but they are fun to read again.

Breazy said...

Hey G-Man! I am back thank the Lord! We got moved into our new house last on the 4th and we haven't had time since then for anything. I am so glad to be back even though for the next week or so it will be only partially until I get everything unpacked and organized. Here I have the dial-up once again but not for long. The cable company has me on the schedule for service..yay!

Now I think I am going to go. I just wanted to stop in and tell you that I have missed you and I can't wait to get back to blogging with you! Hope you have a good day!

Breazy

Manny said...

Tell pepsi it's ok as long as i get to pick and choose the ones who back back and the ones that stay gone.

G-Man said...

Mona, mera ghar, tumhara ghar mera...always!xoxo

TC, You da man!!

Mistress, Thats because we are the trendsetters of blogland!!
Mera Yurt, Tumhara yurt mera...Hahahaha
xoxoxox

Jillie!! Don't bounce too much...Your Foot!!

In England Fanny is Pussy?
Wheres Autumn Storm?
Thanks for that heads up EB, I don't want to say the wrong thing to her!

Trini!!
Hi sweetie. Thanks for that tid bit, I'll remember that one..xoxoxo

Strumpet..My Wax tadpole, is your Wax tadpole...Chode Face!!
Use it in any circle you like Baby...It's free!!

JJ, I know!
I really like it too..xox

Gabby, you read it here first!! xoxoxox

Breazy, have I ever missed you!!!
You better remember the ole G-Man...xoxox

Manny, it's just a saying. OK?
You so cute.xoxoxox

Cathy, Your Mother-in-law sounds awesome. first she's OK with your wank talk, and she cooks Lamb also? I wanna see a pic of her.
Also Cathy?
I have my Friday 55 finished...do you?

Mona said...

AWWWWW G- MAN!!! that is sooo sweet! :)

I didnt know why you were asking me to translate that...but now I see...

& mera ghar tumaraa ghar, right back to you

When I was in US for a visit, I was given the impression, ' stay away from bike riders, they will always shoot you'

I didnt believe it then
I'm glad & trumphant today that I did'nt believe it!

javajazz said...

i love bikers...
i attract them
like flies.
yum yum.

Mona said...

sorry galen...I have to go,,,

But this doesnt mean I love you any less

G-Man said...

Mona, Thanks...xoxo

JJ? Thats Kinda Hot!!!

Cazzie!!! said...

Hahhaha, eat your fingers off...LMAO.
Thanks for missing me, I was posting while you were chinwagging to me...so come on over and see wht I was up to :) It is all goood :)

javajazz said...

it sure is, baby...
xoxo

javajazz said...

well, its certainly
nothing i do on purpose...
things just...come to me,
i reckon...

G-Man said...

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bzzzz(SWATTTT!!!! )

...so much for the flies!


( ouch! )

Cha Cha said...

Choding is the new black, Jazzy.

You haven't heard?


And Jillie...go ahead and bounce. Just do it on one foot...like a hop. And let me know when you're doing it so that I can watch. Cos fun things happen when you bounce.

cathy said...

shit I forgot 55, thanks for reminding me.
I'm intending to post about my mother in law soon, with pic.

I'm not at all sure that javajazz isn't fed up with choding, the word that is.