I've been pretty impressed so far at the general lack of Engrish that I've encountered thus far in Japan. Sure there are the the occational "L" and "R" swaps, but that's not too terrible. And with North American 12 yr old girls walking around with "Jailbait" shirts, it's not too far of a leap to see a middle-aged Japanese lady walking around with a shirt that reads "I like it from behind". That being said, I was pretty amused to find a gold-mine of Engrish in my hotel room.. Here are some excepts of what I think they are trying to say (as translated from the Japanese) and what they actually write
Intended: When leaving the room, the small thing on the inside doorknob is the the lock
Actual: Still a key of door in outside room (a lock) of a doorknob of an inner door is small
Intended: If there are any unclear points, please don't hesitate to ask at the front desk
Actual: If there was an indistinct dot without hesitation to the front desk
Dunno; reeks of
babelfish translation to me.
2 comments:
That was hilarious. Although, in Babel Fish's defence, I was saved from a potential crisis today when ordering shoes from a German website.
Bitte Unterhalt oben mit Ihren lustigen Geschichten!
Don't get me wrong, Ellen, I love babelfish.
Still though, judging from the translation it gave me for your German phrase there, I shudder to think of what horrendous crisis that helped you avoid.
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