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Discussion Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 12:33:06 PM

Title: Lost in Translation?
Post by: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 12:33:06 PM
I found this rather humorous and thought I'd share with y'all...........

I was at my LHS the other day and picked up a new CPR 'boose for the layout. This is NOT a Bachmann product, and I won't mention the manufacturer's name, but what was printed on the side of the box in the "details" area was quite amusing.

I think this is what happens when French gets translated into Chinese and then back into English  ;D

Quote....."Proportionally ballasted outlay for optimal radii navigation"

Sounds like lawyer speak for "Correctly weighted for good tracking"......lol.

Sid
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: rogertra on May 26, 2011, 02:11:06 PM
Why would it be "French gets translated into Chinese and then back into English"?

French has nothing to do with it.

All the product box needs is a French label to conform to labelling requirements.


Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 02:14:34 PM
It's a Canadian company with manufacturing done in China, Roger.....it's quite possible that it happened that way. I'm just speculating. :D

Sid
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: rogertra on May 26, 2011, 04:14:35 PM
Quote from: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 02:14:34 PM
It's a Canadian company with manufacturing done in China, Roger.....it's quite possible that it happened that way. I'm just speculating. :D

Sid

The first language in Canada and the language of business is English.  If it was Trueline Trains they are located in Ontario and definately in English speaking Canada.
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 05:40:11 PM
Roger....I know that....I'm Canadian.....some of you guys take stuff way too seriously. I just thought the wording was odd, is all I meant by the post.

Sid
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: jonathan on May 26, 2011, 06:26:26 PM
Well I found it humorous. :)

JV
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Jerrys HO on May 26, 2011, 06:31:33 PM
Canadian, French, Chinese all the same just spelled different. Close the can of worms Sid I think it's gonna get personal.
Le Ze La Bon Ton Roulette that's how we do it in cajun land.
Jerry
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Jim Banner on May 26, 2011, 07:22:21 PM
Anyone remember Gigatext?  Sounds like something it would translate.

Jim

p.s. I believe Roger is also a Canuck, living on Canada's tenth largest island. 
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 07:55:15 PM
Ya Jim....I knew that fact as well....I remember reading he was from Shawnigan Lake or there about.....that's why I was puzzled as to why he didn't get the joke.

Oh well.....next topic.

Sid
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: rogertra on May 27, 2011, 01:29:05 AM
Quote from: WoundedBear on May 26, 2011, 07:55:15 PM
Ya Jim....I knew that fact as well....I remember reading he was from Shawnigan Lake or there about.....that's why I was puzzled as to why he didn't get the joke.

Oh well.....next topic.

Sid

Joke?  That was a joke?  Who's your writer?  I'd fire him/her and get a better one.  :)  

We'll you're correct.  I didn't get the joke.
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Doneldon on May 27, 2011, 03:59:42 AM
Jerry-

Laissez le bon temps rouler.
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Woody Elmore on May 27, 2011, 07:51:18 AM
The point is that the text was originally written in Chinese and poorly translated into English. I remember laughing at the instructions packed with some 4th of July firecrackers: "Lay on ground, light fuse, retire quickly!"

Thanks to Nafta we get instructions in three languages. How soon before they add others?

Didn't the CN put the French spelling "Canadien" on one side of a freight car and the English spelling on the other?
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: rogertra on May 27, 2011, 02:25:05 PM
Quote from: Woody Elmore on May 27, 2011, 07:51:18 AM
The point is that the text was originally written in Chinese and poorly translated into English. I remember laughing at the instructions packed with some 4th of July firecrackers: "Lay on ground, light fuse, retire quickly!"

Thanks to Nafta we get instructions in three languages. How soon before they add others?

Didn't the CN put the French spelling "Canadien" on one side of a freight car and the English spelling on the other?


It goes back beyond manufacturing in China. Back to when Japan was the equivalent of today's China.

As for "Lay on ground, light fuse, retire quickly!" What is wrong with this statement? Grammatically, it is 100% correct.

As for Canadian/Canadien the CN has been doing this since the 1960s, What's wrong with it? At least that doesn't upset Canadians as much as painting the combined Canadian Flag and American flag on the locomotives did.   That created quite a fuss.
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: glennk28 on May 28, 2011, 03:09:41 AM
A classic on this was done by Mark Twain, in which he presented the "Jumping Frog" story in English, thern translated into French, finally "Clawed back into English".   I don't think he had much use for French.  gj
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Jim Banner on May 29, 2011, 01:42:17 AM
Running the first four lines of 'Mary had a little lamb' through Bable Fish, first from English to French, then from French to English gave this:
Mary had a small lamb. Its quilts was white like snow. And this Mary went everywhere, l' lamb was sure d' to go.

English to Chinese and back to English gives:
Ma Li has a small lamb. Its wool is the white achievement snow. And everywhere that Ma Li goes, the lamb is affirms.  Starting to sound familiar?

Translating it from English to French to English to Chinese to English, I think we finally have it:
Ma Li has a small lamb. Its quilt is the white elephant snow. And this Ma Li goes everywhere, l' The lamb is affirmative d' Going.

Jim

Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Woody Elmore on May 29, 2011, 07:51:37 PM
rogertra - I am not criticizing the dual spelling on CN cars. Also, as kids, we thought that "retire quickly" was hilarious.  Did they need to tell you that?

Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: rogertra on May 29, 2011, 11:08:08 PM
I didn't mean to imply that you were criticizing the dual spelling on CN cars. I just wondered why you'd mentioned it.

As for "retire to safe distance", why do they need to tell you?  : -

"Contents hot" when you buy coffee or apple strudels from MacBloats?

"Do not use in shower." -- On a hair dryer.

"This product not intended for use as a dental drill." -- On an electric rotary tool.

"Caution: Do not spray in eyes." -- On a container of underarm deodorant.

"Caution! Contents hot!" -- On a Domino's Pizza box.

Etc., etc... 

Because some people are stupid and if they don't put these unneeded warnings on products, the manufacturer gets sued by the stupid people's lawyers.    :-)
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: railsider on June 17, 2011, 01:25:43 PM
Yo answer Roger T.'s question, "Why do they have to tell you?" ... two reasons:

1]  Some people are dumb enough not to realize that you need to be somewhere else when a firecracker goes "boom"  ... and similar stupidities. If you don't believe it, just ask an emergency room doctor sometime.

3]  And some of those people ... or their surviving heirs ... are selfish enough to decide to sue the maker, seller or anyone else connected to a product that does what it's designed to do, and causes stupid people who don't have common sense to get hurt.

For those two reasons, the lawyers for the companies that make, sell, or have anything to do with potentially dangerous (if misused) products insist on leaving no stone of stupidity unturned in protecting themselves from lawsuits (I won't go into the motivations for the lawyers who file those damage suits ... they, too, are just doing what they were designed to do, regardless of stupid users).

It would be a better world if we did not have those dumb things all around us, but we do, so we have to do what we can to protect ourselves. In a perfect world, nonsense like this would not be outlawed -- that's impractical -- but would be unnecessary and even unthinkable.

And the idiotic instructions "clawed back into English" to use Mark Twain's memorable phrase, would be a thing of the past if we had a single, universal  auxiliary language that everyone used for all intercultural and international communication, with the same vocabulary, spelling and grammar everywhere. Just like the metric system of measurements and the law of gravity.

To keep this train-related: it's analogous to the concept of standard track gauge, which meant that cars can go anywhere in the country without having to unload.

Happy rails to you..............................................................
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Johnson Bar Jeff on June 21, 2011, 10:31:01 AM
Quote from: rogertra on May 29, 2011, 11:08:08 PM
Because some people are stupid and if they don't put these unneeded warnings on products, the manufacturer gets sued by the stupid people's lawyers.    :-)

Of course, you know why sharks never attack lawyers, don't you? Professional courtesy. ...
Title: Re: Lost in Translation?
Post by: Stephen D. Richards on June 28, 2011, 10:14:56 AM
Jim,     exactly!

Jeff,     the Sharks just use the excuse of "Professional Courtesy."  Frankly, lawyers taste too bad.      Stephen