Signs - Lost in transation
After reading Chris's most recent blog "Lost in translation" I decided to continue the conversation on translations that could be added and expanded. The true problem with translations comes when no cultural equivalent exisits...
Bad English or just avoiding copyright problems?
There are thousand of cases of mis-translation that have made me laugh and cry over the past sixteen years as an expat...but I will limit this post to the most recent signs I had the time to photogragh during our three-week, whirlwind tour of China and HK.
Future posts should bring more anecdotes and bad translations - part of the fun of being an expat; you always know that there will be a chuckle around the corner, or in the toilet...
Signs do not need to include bad English to be of interest - differences in culture are usually enough to make a sign interesting:
A dog toilet...Hong Kong style:
Perfect English, but not the type of thing I would see in Madrid:
"Entrance to the right"...but five signs down "No Entry"
Another good example of good English, but different cultures:
Keep your "family jewels" in view! Unknown dangers lurking nearby:
This kind of signage was all over Hong Kong. The entire place is constantly being disinfected because of H1N1 fears. Can't blame them after what SARs did to HK:
Pirates? ...where?
The "Roiing" stones need special care....
The Chinese has three characters; therefore, the English should have three parts:
This sign stood out on our trip. We were in the very modern, clean and organized Pudong Shanghai Airport when I spotted this sign. "We can't seem to find the problem with the water quality, but we know that there is a problem...if you find "the" water quality problem, let us know!"
This is where the policing gets done:
There are websights dedicated to bad signage...if you want more of the same:
See ya later,
The United Statesian
