If You Thought THAT Was Bad...

[HopefulNikki]

Even though, as I pointed out in my last thread, America hasn't always done a stellar job with their advertisements in other languages, they don't take all the blame. Other countries have done just as abysmally (and hilariously) when translating their messages into English; Enjoy. p.s. - The typos are real.

1. In a Tokyo hotel: "Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such thing is please not to read notis."
2. In a Bucharest hotel lobby: "The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable."
3. In a Leipzig elevator: "Do not enter the lift backwards, and only when lit up."
4. In a Belgrade hotel elevator: "To move the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is not then going alphabetically by national order."
5. In a Paris hotel elevator: "Please your values at the front desk."
6. In a hotel in Athens: "Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily."
7. In a Yugoslavian hotel: "The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid."
8. In a Japanese hotel: You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid."
9. In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from the Russian Orthodox monastery: You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursdays.
10. On the menu of a Swiss restaurant: Our wines leave you nothing to hope for.

And there's more....

 

[Katzpur]

Even though, as I pointed out in my last thread, America hasn't always done a stellar job with their advertisements in other languages, they don't take all the blame. Other countries have done just as abysmally (and hilariously) when translating their messages into English; Enjoy. p.s. - The typos are real.

1. In a Tokyo hotel: "Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such thing is please not to read notis."
2. In a Bucharest hotel lobby: "The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable."
3. In a Leipzig elevator: "Do not enter the lift backwards, and only when lit up."
4. In a Belgrade hotel elevator: "To move the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is not then going alphabetically by national order."
5. In a Paris hotel elevator: "Please your values at the front desk."
6. In a hotel in Athens: "Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily."
7. In a Yugoslavian hotel: "The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid."
8. In a Japanese hotel: You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid."
9. In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from the Russian Orthodox monastery: You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursdays.
10. On the menu of a Swiss restaurant: Our wines leave you nothing to hope for.

And there's more....

Those really are funny. I was an English major in college, so stuff like this really cracks me up.

 

[Djamila]

You should try watching a Hollywood movie in a Bosnian cinema. You have one of two options: Subtitles, or dubbing. When Bosnian theatres dubb movies into the Bosnian language, they don't pay 15 professionals to do it. They pay one person to recite everyone's lines in Bosnian. Sometimes they try to change their voices for each character, sometimes they don't.

Your other option isn't the best either. You have subtitles, but you need to be able to speak English in order to translate move dialogue from English to Bosnian.

For example, I remember hearing the characters say:

"What's up, my n-g--r?"
"Deadly!"

But the subtitles, in Bosnian, read:
"Is something new, my <racist term>?"
"Leprosy!"

 

[Capt. Haddock]

You should try watching a Hollywood movie in a Bosnian cinema. You have one of two options: Subtitles, or dubbing. When Bosnian theatres dubb movies into the Bosnian language, they don't pay 15 professionals to do it. They pay one person to recite everyone's lines in Bosnian. Sometimes they try to change their voices for each character, sometimes they don't.

It's the same in Poland. I remember watching television there, and they actually don't remove the original language sountrack. YOu can still hear the original English (or whatever) and then there is this one guy talking over all of that in a drab, monotone Polish. I can't figure out how anyone can understand it.

The funniest was late at night when they would show some "sexier" films, and you still hear the same expressionless monotone saying "Oh, yes, baby, oh, oh, oh".

Leprosy!

 

[stemann]

Leprosy!

The all-new West-End musical from Sir Andrew-Lloyd Webber.