With thanks to Richard Hale at Tongue Tied.
From the famous claim to an unsuspecting Chinese public that “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead” to the hotel in Japan that invites you to “take advantage of the chambermaid” we have all seen bad translations in action.
We’re not going to preach as we all make mistakes from time to time, but at Tongue Tied all of our translations are done by native speakers based in the target country and they are proofread as standard to eliminate any human errors…
OK so we did preach a little bit but, just like the American computer company Wang, we would like our customers to know that we really care about the quality of our work… we just wouldn’t choose their slogan “Wang Cares” to show.
Here are some favourites…
Paris: “Please leave your values at the front desk”
Switzerland: “Our wines leave you nothing to hope for”
Norway: “Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar”
Vienna: “In case of fire, do your utmost to alarm the hotel porter”
Bucharest: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable”
Moscow : “If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it”
Japan : “Guests are requested not to smoke or do other disgusting behaviors in bed”
Thailand: “Please do not bring solicitors into your room”
Nairobi “Customers who find our waitresses rude ought to see the manager”
Acapulco: “The manager has personally passed all the water served here”
Link to Tongue Tied mistranslations for more goodies!