Lost in translation.

**Steve Goldstein** · 13-Aug-2009, 09:06

Originally Posted by Bob Salomon - HP Marketing

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** · 13-Aug-2009, 09:36

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

**Michael Graves** · 13-Aug-2009, 09:57

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

**Bob Salomon** · 13-Aug-2009, 11:56

Some were close. It was a film washer.

**Per Madsen** · 13-Aug-2009, 23:16

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** · 14-Aug-2009, 01:20

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** · 14-Aug-2009, 01:28

Originally Posted by 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.

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

Cheers,

Dan