Lost in translation.

[Stephen Lewis]

I’ve just taken delivery of a Shen Hao TFC45-IIB and, after messing with the camera for a while, finally sat down to read the instructions. Well, Shen Hao’s attempts at translation left me chuckling for the rest of the evening, so I offer a just a few of the highlights here for your entertainment. :D

A hint at the fun to follow is right there on the front cover where a bold statement reads “The beauty and warmth of a hand-crafted wooden body with today’s technology inside” I'm still looking. :confused:

Turning to the first page and continuing onto page 2, there’s a diagram of the camera with a parts list. There are 37 parts listed, but here’re a few highlights;

Part No 9 – Three foot rests nuts in place.
Part No 18 – Under mirror board files strip.
Part No 23 – Skin cavity fixed knob.
Part No 25 – The level soaks.
Part No 30 – Selects a scene the frame to press the reed spacing block.
Part No 32 – To burnt screen clamp.
Part No 33 – Selects a scene the frame to press the reed.
Part No 34 – Under the facade the files are quick.

I leave it to your imagination to decide exactly what parts these relate to. Have fun! :)

[reellis67]

You gotta love machine translations...

- Randy

[Dan Fromm]

Randy, in '93-4 I was involved in a large Chinese to English translation project. Most of the translators were Chinese grad students in the US. The text Steve posted is no worse than what most of them handed in, so IMO could have been produced by people. Or a person.

The big moral of our disaster, by the way, is that translations are best done by people fluent in the target language. And not just fluent in general if trade jargon is involved, but fluent in the trade jargon too.

Cheers,

Dan

[Archphoto]

It remembers way back when I translated a Wista brochure into propper German.
At least that one was readable to a photographer....

I've seen this before, funny.

Oh, by the way, if you post a scan of it, we can make a translation for you if you need it.......... (joke)

Thanks,
Peter

[FilmIsNotDead]

Have a few beers and it'll all start to make sense.

[Bob Salomon]

After I was discharged from the USAF I managed a camera store in the 60s. One day a customer came in with something that they had purchased and the instructions and asked us how it worked. Since they had the instructions we checked them . And I have carried a copy of them in my wallet ever since. It is a very common object, something that probably all of you use. See if you know what it is.

"1: Water will run surface to the bottom for the several direction, therefore chemical does not stay in the bottom, it not stay the bottom either comes to there in the bottom.
2: Bubbly makes to the several direction, and quantity of water is not necessary, therefore it saves time to compare of ordinary water to cut down about 40% off.
3: The gum rabber filter was specially made to can be attach to any water value to ready to use."

Printed in Japan.

[Daniel Grenier]

Have a few beers and it'll all start to make sense.

Liar! ..... I'm up to 18 beers and it still don't make any sense. I think Ill pass out now!

[FilmIsNotDead]

Have a few beers and it'll all start to make sense.


Liar! ..... I'm up to 18 beers and it still don't make any sense. I think Ill pass out now!

Your problem is you tipped past the "happy balance" point.

[Brian Sims]

"1: Water will run surface to the bottom for the several direction, therefore chemical does not stay in the bottom, it not stay the bottom either comes to there in the bottom.
2: Bubbly makes to the several direction, and quantity of water is not necessary, therefore it saves time to compare of ordinary water to cut down about 40% off.
3: The gum rabber filter was specially made to can be attach to any water value to ready to use."



Well, that's a Coffee Maker

[Marko]

It remembers way back when I translated a Wista brochure into propper German.

What does? :D

[Steve Goldstein]

After I was discharged from the USAF I managed a camera store in the 60s. One day a customer came in with something that they had purchased and the instructions and asked us how it worked. Since they had the instructions we checked them . And I have carried a copy of them in my wallet ever since. It is a very common object, something that probably all of you use. See if you know what it is.

"1: Water will run surface to the bottom for the several direction, therefore chemical does not stay in the bottom, it not stay the bottom either comes to there in the bottom.
2: Bubbly makes to the several direction, and quantity of water is not necessary, therefore it saves time to compare of ordinary water to cut down about 40% off.
3: The gum rabber filter was specially made to can be attach to any water value to ready to use."

Printed in Japan.

Sounds like some kind of tray siphon system for print washing...

Aside - my wife is Chinese, born in China. I never cease to marvel at the creative uses they make there of the English language. I've often thought that we could retire there and I could make a good living translating English to English.

[Daniel Grenier]

You guys might get a kick out of this site. http://www.engrish.com/

[Michael Graves]

You guys read a Microsoft Technical Bulletin lately? And your complaining about Chinese/American translations??!!??

[Bob Salomon]

Some were close. It was a film washer.

[Per Madsen]

Reminds me of the old machine translation joke:

English:
Out of sight, out of mind.

Machine translated to russian and machine retranslated to english:

A invisible lunatic.

[rdenney]

After listening to an unintelligible babble of a research presentation by a Chinese graduate student, and then listening as that student was unable to understand let alone answer an unintelligible question (presumably posed in English, but I have no evidence of it) by another Chinese graduate student, all before an audience of about 400, a colleague of mine suggested loudly enough for only the back half of the room to hear, "Why don't you speak in Chinese, that way at least two of you will understand what you are saying". The students were actually offended when the back half of the room erupted in laughter. But the blame goes to their professors, who should have never let them give the presentation in the first place. But the truth is that their profs were no better.

Rick "who made it 75% through thermodynamics class before realizing that 'seepowpra' meant 'steam power plant'" Denney

[Dan Fromm]

Reminds me of the old machine translation joke:

English:
Out of sight, out of mind.

Machine translated to russian and machine retranslated to english:

A invisible lunatic.Per, the punchline that I grew up with is "invisible, insane"

Cheers,

Dan