#21  
Old June 17, 2007, 08:57 PM
Tomisimo's Avatar
Tomisimo Tomisimo is offline
Davidísimo
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: North America
Posts: 5,664
Native Language: American English
Tomisimo will become famous soon enoughTomisimo will become famous soon enough
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.
__________________
If you find something wrong with my Spanish, please correct it!
Reply With Quote
   
Get rid of these ads by registering for a free Tomísimo account.
  #22  
Old June 18, 2007, 12:43 AM
sosia's Avatar
sosia sosia is offline
Ankh-Morpork's citizen
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: a 55 cm del monitor
Posts: 2,984
Native Language: Spanish (Spain)
sosia has a spectacular aura aboutsosia has a spectacular aura about
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.
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old November 03, 2008, 02:55 PM
Jessica's Avatar
Jessica Jessica is offline
...
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: PA
Posts: 8,187
Native Language: English, Chinese
Jessica is on a distinguished road
I don't get it. It's funny, but I don't get it :P
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old November 03, 2008, 10:27 PM
CrOtALiTo's Avatar
CrOtALiTo CrOtALiTo is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Mérida, Yucatán
Posts: 11,686
Native Language: I can understand Spanish and English
CrOtALiTo is on a distinguished road
Of course, but I didn't understand anything above this post.
__________________
We are building the most important dare for my life and my family feature now we are installing new services in telecoms.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old November 03, 2008, 10:48 PM
Rusty's Avatar
Rusty Rusty is offline
Señor Speedy
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 11,299
Native Language: American English
Rusty has a spectacular aura aboutRusty has a spectacular aura about
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
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old November 04, 2008, 12:02 AM
Planet hopper's Avatar
Planet hopper Planet hopper is offline
Pearl
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Kuwait suburbia
Posts: 386
Native Language: Irish-Canadian English and Andalusian Spanish.
Planet hopper is on a distinguished road
Is this mistranslation funny?

It's a sign at the door of a museum in China.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	2983819726_73de7942c5.jpg
Views:	207
Size:	83.4 KB
ID:	100  
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old November 05, 2008, 04:47 AM
sibdx01's Avatar
sibdx01 sibdx01 is offline
Ruby
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Gijón - Asturias - España
Posts: 43
Native Language: Español
sibdx01 is on a distinguished road
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."

Hidden Text: Show/Hide
Click to show hidden text - Da click para revelar el texto oculto



Hidden Text: Show/Hide
Click to show hidden text - Da click para revelar el texto oculto



Hidden Text: Show/Hide
Click to show hidden text - Da click para revelar el texto oculto

__________________
Outside of a Dog, a Book Is Man's Best Friend. inside of a Dog It's Too Dark to Read.

There are only 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't

Last edited by Rusty; March 25, 2009 at 01:55 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old March 25, 2009, 12:22 PM
AngelicaDeAlquezar's Avatar
AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is online now
Obsidiana
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mexico City
Posts: 9,038
Native Language: Mexican Spanish
AngelicaDeAlquezar is on a distinguished road
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?
__________________
Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the Rock'n'Roll plays...

Last edited by AngelicaDeAlquezar; March 25, 2009 at 12:29 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old March 25, 2009, 12:43 PM
chileno's Avatar
chileno chileno is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Las Vegas, USA
Posts: 7,863
Native Language: Castellano
chileno is on a distinguished road
Angelica, that was good!


Otro cortito.

Que le dijo una uva verde a la uva morada?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


iReeespiiiiiiiraaaaaa!
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old March 25, 2009, 02:25 PM
CrOtALiTo's Avatar
CrOtALiTo CrOtALiTo is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Mérida, Yucatán
Posts: 11,686
Native Language: I can understand Spanish and English
CrOtALiTo is on a distinguished road
Jajaja huy que ....


Cual es el colmo de un electricista?




Hidden Text: Show/Hide
Click to show hidden text - Da click para revelar el texto oculto

__________________
We are building the most important dare for my life and my family feature now we are installing new services in telecoms.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
jokes

 

Link to this thread
URL: 
HTML Link: 
BB Code: 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Site Rules


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:17 PM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X