Tuesday 29 September 2009

Popes wrinkled? Yes, he is!



In Spain if you get given a restaurant menu in English you are sometimes confronted with hilarious translations (though much less than 7 years ago when I first arrived). Like everywhere else in the world, people can be so stingy when it comes to translations, and instead of paying what would probably amount to 50euros (my rates) to translate a simple menu, small (and not so small) business owners would rather get some uncle or cousin who 'knows a bit of English' to do the job for them, or worse still use one of those dodgy translation programmes. Sometimes the results are truly funny, the real menu photographed above was taken by my freind Kate in a popular eaterie La Latina - popes wrinkled, rather than bearing any relation to the head of the Catholic chruch, is the literal translation of papas arrugadas (mini potatoes in their wrinkled skins) Still, the type of phrasal faux pas commited here is nothing compared to what the guys from the website Engrish have encountered on their travels (around the far east by the looks of it). Just a couple of examples below. Point four of the first photo is particularly disturbing.












3 comments:

Unknown said...

Yes you are right these can be a good source of amusement -

Ironed Chicken (Pollo a la plancha)

and as you say - why not just get a translator instead of worrying thier customers

dlist said...

The best one I have come across was the "Rape a la marinera" which was translated "Rape sailor style"

Nadya said...

'Rape Sailor style', that's hilarious, what an unfortunate use of language!!

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