Lost in Translation

When a German sentence like “Genieße Dein Leben in vollen Zügen” is translated as “Enjoy your life in full trains,” it may provide amusement. However, it’s also a sign that a company is not exactly proficient in English and prefers to rely on cheap machine translation tools instead of native speakers, thus saving money in the wrong place.

But there is some good news: According to a study by the Statista Research Department, around 70 percent of all adults in Germany have at least a reasonably good knowledge of one or even several foreign languages. The bad news, however: When things get tough and people need a translation quickly, many rely on the online tools mentioned above and fall into the “translation trap.” For companies, restaurants, hotels or organizations, in particular, this can backfire and even cause immense costs in addition to image damage.

You can also see how much can go wrong when it comes to translation in this funny video from Awkward Puppets. Have fun with Maria and her colleagues!

We have gathered some more examples of translation fails here:

• Maybe you remember the advertising slogan of the bank HSBC (Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Holdings PLC) from 2009? “Assume Nothing” (in the sense of “Don't take anything for granted!” or “Don't make false assumptions”) turned into something like “Do Nothing” in many countries. The rebranding campaign that the bank had to launch after this translation mishap cost the company over 15 million euros. Ouch!
• In China, there really is a restaurant called “Translate server error.” The owner had apparently tried to translate the Chinese word for “restaurant.” But the translation tool unfortunately produced an error. As the restaurant owner didn’t notice, a big sign with “Translate server error” has been emblazoned over his store ever since.
• The following example from a hotel is also amusing: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” I wonder if the passengers of this broken-down elevator really were “unbearable”?
• Sometimes, the translations of German proverbs are also incredibly funny. “Ich glaub’ ich spinne” (I must be going crazy) ends up as “I think I spider,” or “Ich brech’ zusammen” (I’m going to collapse) as “I break together.” And if you want to say that your English is “unter aller Sau” (really, really bad), please don’t translate it as “My English is under all pig.”

By the way, there are also terms that cannot be translated at all:

• The Indonesian word "Jaysus" means something like “a joke so badly told and so unfunny that you have to laugh anyway.” But how can you translate that into a single word?
• “Prozvonit,” in turn, comes from the Czech and means “to call a cell phone and let it ring only once, so that the other party calls you back and you save money.” Such a shame that we haven’t got a word this!
• A German example, on the other hand, is “Torschlusspanik.” This literally means “fear of the door closing on you” but it used more commonly in the sense of “the fear of missing out on something (especially due to the fact you are getting too old).” Many have tried, but there is simply no convincing translation into other languages.

The Top 10 Translation Fails:

1. Literal translations often backfire spectacularly.
2. Incorrect terms and “false friends” also definitely belong on this list.
3. Lack of context confuses the reader.
4. An inappropriate style is also a faux pas.
5. When lay people work on a subject they are not familiar with, this can have negative consequences.
6. Most errors occur under pressure (especially of time).
7. Incorrect sentence structure can also lead to bizarre results.
8. If you don’t proofread and are not able to ask a native speaker for help, you’ll quickly get into trouble.
9. Care should also be taken with numbers and spellings: For example, an English “billion” is not a “Billion” in German, but a “Milliarde.” Commas can also be a problem: 9,5 Millionen (German) residents are 9.5 million (English).
10. Machine translation is most suitable for repetitive and standardized texts. As soon as a more attractive written style or special expertise is required, you’re better off having your text translated by humans.

Rely on our experts instead!

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