Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Please Signs Yes Go Laugh!

FYI, I just got my first teenage blog stalker. I know you're all jealous. He's a 17 year old boy, which means my blog must be pretty freaking cool. ( Check my comments on my Sign Language post). Anyway, to honor this momentus occasion, I'm going to do a whole post on the link that Salamandstron sent me.

The Chinese, as you know, are well-known for their astounding attention to detail and extremely high quality. Also, they are known for their love of collaboration with the West. So it's kind of surprising that they got a few of their signs translated wrong:



Anyone want to take a guess what this one is telling you to do? It actually means to say "On a stormy day, please don't climb the religious artifacts to get a better view of the scenery." You know, because tourists are always getting struck by lightning and the Chinese government is getting tired of cleaning up burnt Americans.



Hey, at least they HAVE scenic areaturnover lines in China. Ours our so mundane.





Ah! NOW we know why China is so behind the times on conservation.





Why don't we have these trash recepticles over here? I never know what to do with my left over jack-o-lanturns and fish bones after Halloween.





Although the words have been lost in translation, I think the message is clear: Absolutely NO slutty poses sitting on the fence.





I knew the communist government over there was restrictive. But no bikes, no dogs, AND no dragonflies at the park? Come on, China!





What I got out of this one is that this tea involves needles, tastes like a soaking bear (but more mellow) and that it makes you drool. Doesn't sound too good. But I do like my face raised now and then, so I'd probably still try it.




And finally, only the Chinese know how to put a poetic spin on taking a leak:



Thanks to http://www.petergreenberg.com/2007/09/10/signs-in-china-a-guide-to-understanding-common-engrish-expressions/ for the signs.

10 comments:

Kay said...

It's because they are translating to English, and it's really really hard. Some if it's because thier grammer is so different.
If they worked with a native English speaker who also knows thier language well, it would make sense. When I'm translating English to Korean I make horrible mistakes like that. But my penpal helps me correct it so it makes sense... sometimes. Usually she says she gets what I mean. Sometimes she just laughs at my mistakes.

.jimaie.marie. said...

why must you make me tinkle my pants in the morning!!! LOL!!
oh man, the no slutty poses sign really got me :D

Devri said...

Yea ok, I am freakin' JELOUS!!!!

Brittany said...

I love your sarcasm. It reminds me of me. jk -such funny signs, but your captions are better-

Anonymous said...

How does one go about getting stalkers?

Misty said...

Thanks for the laugh - I needed it!

kimberlina said...

I always wondered when I lived in Korea why they didn't hire native English speakers to do translations, especially on advertisements that would be widely used. I sure could've used the extra cash :) I saw my share of funny translations!

Shannon said...

I loved over there for awhile... brings back some whacky memories!

Mia said...

In Taiwan they did use the missionaries to translate signs more clearly for them and the mission president allowed it because it was community service.

alex dumas said...

You could do a post on just the whacky comments you get because of spelling errors-- i.e., "I loved over there for awhile... brings back some whacky memories!"

Is that Karyn Korean? Because that would explain A LOT.