Calle Lanzarote » Translations

When translations go wrong: a helping of lamb?

Graham — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:29:11 +0000

Of all the translations that I have seen on Lanzarote that have gone wrong, this one has to be the worst. I think the original says “a typical dish from southern India with a helping of lamb in onion and black pepper sauce”.

What it actually says, in German, is not really translatable back into English, but it comes out something like this: “a typical plate from the southern bit of the Indian (person) with assistance from the lamb in a sauce from onions and black pepper”.

This looks like a typical computer translation – word for word ignoring the context of the text. So why do restaurants get away with this so much on Lanzarote? Do the tourist not care as long as it’s comprehensible? Do the restaurants not want to spend money on proper translations? If you have any ideas on this subject, please leave a comment!

When translations go wrong: Lanzarotean

Graham — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:17:07 +0000

One of the problems with international translations is that you have to deal with words connected to places that don’t always have an obvious translation in every language. One example I had a few years ago was “Hong Kong Chinese” – I rang the German Embassy in London to ask them for advice!

So what is something that comes from Lanzarote? Most English texts use “Lanzarotean” and the German equivalent would seem to be “Lanzarotisch”. One restaurant didn’t agree and used “Lanzarotenisch” which maybe sounds more exotic?

When translations go wrong – the podcast

Graham — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:04:09 +0000

Today the Monday Podcast discusses the translation errors that I have been blogging about for the past few weeks and discusses why such mistakes happen.

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast
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When translations go wrong: battered octopus rings

Graham — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:09:41 +0000

Another menu that has gone slightly wrong, seen in Puerto del Carmen.

It should read “Tintenfischringe in Backteig” – ie. octopus rings in batter . The German word “Ausbackteig” doesn’t exist, but for me it implies something more like baking a cake than the batter mix that it is meant to be.

More bad chicken translations

Graham — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:20:31 +0000

Remember that half-baked chicken? Here are some more examples from the same menu, seen in Puerto del Carmen: