#21  
Old June 17, 2007, 08:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by celador View Post
When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.
It would be interesting to see a picture of an ad or something for that campaign. Mistranslations are always funny.
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  #22  
Old June 18, 2007, 12:43 AM
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http://languagecenter.cla.umn.edu/el...article_id=100
Business slogans from American Demographics magazine:
When Braniff translated a slogan touting its upholstery, "Fly in leather," it came out in Spanish as "Fly naked."

Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea."

Chicken magnate Frank Perdue's line, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," sounds much more interesting in Spanish: "It takes a sexually stimulated man to make a chicken affectionate."

The Chevy Nova never sold well in Spanish speaking countries. "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish.

When Pepsi started marketing its products in China a few years back, they translated their slogan, "Pepsi Brings You Back to Life" pretty literally. The slogan in Chinese really meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave."

When Coca-Cola first shipped to China, they named the product something that when pronounced sounded like "Coca-Cola." The only problem was that the characters used meant "Bite the wax tadpole." They later changed to a set of characters that mean "Happiness in the mouth." FALSE, it was always the second one. The first one it's the literal translation

A hair product company, Clairol, introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that mist is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the manure stick.

When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as here in the USA - with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside since most people can't read.

more
http://moronland.net/moronia/moron/1064/

Last edited by sosia; June 18, 2007 at 12:47 AM.
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  #23  
Old November 03, 2008, 02:55 PM
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I don't get it. It's funny, but I don't get it :P
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  #24  
Old November 03, 2008, 10:27 PM
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Of course, but I didn't understand anything above this post.
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  #25  
Old November 03, 2008, 10:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo View Post
Of course, but I didn't understand anything about this post.
One correction. You often use above when you should use about.

sobre = encima de (on, upon, on top of)
sobre = por encima de (above, over)
sobre = a propósito de (about)
nada de = anything about
algo de = something about
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  #26  
Old November 04, 2008, 12:02 AM
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Is this mistranslation funny?

It's a sign at the door of a museum in China.
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  #27  
Old November 05, 2008, 04:47 AM
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El día de la boda de Jennifer se acercaba rápidamente. Nada podía calmarle el nerviosismo - ni siquiera el feo divorcio de sus padres. Su madre había encontrado el vestido PERFECTO para ese día, ¡y quería ser la madre-de-novia mejor-vestida que nunca hubo!

¡Una semana más tarde, Jennifer se horrorizó al saber que la nueva y joven esposa de su padre había comprado exactamente el mismo vestido que su madre! Jennifer le pidió a su madrastra que lo cambiase, pero ella se negó. "En absoluto. Estoy perfecta con este vestido, y me lo voy a poner!" contestó.

Jennifer se lo contó a su madre, que cortésmente dijo, "No te preocupes, cariño. Me compraré otro vestido. Después de todo, es tu día especial!"

Pocos días después, fueron de compras y encontraron otro hermoso vestido. Cuando pararon para comer, Jennifer le preguntó a su madre, "¿Vas a devolver el otro vestido? Realmente no hay otra ocasión en que puedas ponértelo."

Su madre simplemente sonrió y contestó, "Desde luego que la hay, mi amor. Voy a ponérmelo para la cena del ensayo la noche anterior a la boda."

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Last edited by Rusty; March 25, 2009 at 01:55 PM.
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  #28  
Old March 25, 2009, 12:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sosia View Post
[...]When Gerber first started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as here in the USA - with the cute baby on the label. Later they found out that in Africa companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside since most people can't read.
[...]
It's fantastic how "globalization" proves not so "globalizing".


A friend of mine sent me this about English language:


Quote:
Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:


1. The bandage was wound around the wound.

2. The farm was used to produce produce.

3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4. We must polish the Polish furniture.

5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to

present the present.

8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10. I did not object to the object.

11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13. They were too close to the door to close it.

14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18. After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

22. Do you know which witch was which?


Let's face it--English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant
nor
ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins
weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we
findthat
quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is
neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't
groce, and hammers don't ham. If the plural of tooth is teeth, why
isn't the
plural of booth beeth?

One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?

Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If
you
have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what
do
you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats
vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an
asylum
for the verbally insane.

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that
smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man
and a
wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your
house
can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it
out,
and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the
creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the
lights
are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick?
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Last edited by AngelicaDeAlquezar; March 25, 2009 at 12:29 PM.
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  #29  
Old March 25, 2009, 12:43 PM
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Angelica, that was good!


Otro cortito.

Que le dijo una uva verde a la uva morada?

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iReeespiiiiiiiraaaaaa!
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  #30  
Old March 25, 2009, 02:25 PM
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Jajaja huy que ....


Cual es el colmo de un electricista?




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