Examples of Translation Errors

1. Examples of Translation Errors https://communicationdubai.com

2. Examples of Translation Errors • Some of the errors committed by unwary and unqualified translators can sometimes be extremely hilarious, embarrassing and costly.

3. The Seventy One Million Dollar Mistranslation • In 1980, when Willie Ramirez was admitted to a Florida hospital in a passed out condition, the people with him struggled to explain his condition to the doctors because they spoke only Spanish. • A bilingual paramedic translated “intoxicado” as “intoxicated.” A professional interpreter would have translated “intoxicado” as “poisoned” because it doesn’t carry the same connotations as “intoxicated”. • Ramirez was thought to be suffering from food poisoning. • He had in reality an intra-cerebral hemorrhage, but the doctors treated him for an intentional drug overdose. • Resultantly, Ramirez was left quadriplegic. He was given a malpractice settlement amount of $71 million.

4. President Carter Abandons America • In 1977 President Carter, on a visit to Poland, was reported saying things in Polish like “when I abandoned the United States” (for “when I left the United States”) and “your lusts for the future” (for “your desires for the future”), by mistake just because the Polish Interpreter provided to him was far from professional.

5. The Nothings • In 2009, HSBC bank’s catchphrase “Assume Nothing” was mistranslated as “Do Nothing” in a lot of countries. • The bank had to initiate a $10 million rebranding drive to mend the damage

6. The Horned Head • The patron saint of translators, St. Jerome, wanted to translate the Old Testament into Latin from the original, instead of the Greek version that prevailed then • When he did so, he committed a serious mistake • When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai his head had “radiance” or “karan” • In Hebrew, “karan.” is written without the vowels, and St. Jerome had read “karan” as “keren,” or “horned.” • This mistake kick-started a flurry of paintings and sculptures in which Moses is depicted with horns on his head.

7. The Search for Sheng Long • A character in the Japanese video game Street Fighter II says, “If you cannot overcome the Rising Dragon Punch, you cannot win!” • The phrase “rising dragon” was mistranslated as “Sheng Long.” because, in Japanese, the same characters can have different meaning. • It was thought to be a new character of the game. • Gamers went mad trying to find Sheng Long so that they could defeat him. • Only in December 1992, it was revealed that there was no such character as Sheng Long.

8. Examples of Translation Errors • Employing an exceedingly experienced and qualified translation agency like Communication Legal Translation Est. of Dubai for exact and expert translations can save a lot of humiliation and money • Communication Legal Translation Est. (CLT) takes pride in having the most qualified translation team in the entire region that addresses the exactness of your translations first and foremost • For 20 plus years, CLT has been the leading translation agency in the UAE and Dubai with credible, accurate and valid translations in more than 55 fields and more than 70 languages