10 epic mistakes in translations made by lay people
It happens that translators control everything. Seriously. A person who does not speak a high degree of foreign languages, and cannot imagine how much he does periodically, excuse me, these translators are fooling. And they fool around for various reasons: because of ordinary incompetence, lack of time with all the ensuing consequences, or banal laziness. If the master (or “master”) is mistaken, everything is lost: the smart hero of the work can be exposed as an idiot, the eminent brand is disgraced, and the country is misunderstood in the international arena ...
We decided to recall one of the most epic mistakes made by unprofessional translators. Cry and laugh with us.
Literature
Perhaps there is not a single book about the young wizard Harry Potter from the publishing house "Rosman", where there would be no terrifying blunders. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is chock full of expressions in the spirit of "dusty color", "breathlessness" and "washed air." Hermione with Hagrid on "You." Voldemort, as it turned out, was dying many times, which is weakly matched with the plot of past books. Here is more evidence that the translators did not bother reading the whole story of Harry. The Deathly Hallows characters go over the places where Tom Riddle was killed. But Harry only killed him once!
That is far from all. The same spells in different places of the book are translated in different ways. The word "God" is printed with a small, then with a capital letter. Meanwhile, Rosman is proud of the translators with whom it collaborates. And dissatisfied with the translation, according to the commercial director of the publishing house, they are just mediocre in English ...
***
From what happened with the translations of Stephen King's books in Russia of the 90s, the king of horrors would probably be crazy. The novels "Radiance", "Kujo", "Long Walk", "Dead Zone", "Pet Cemetery" and others were reduced to one degree or another. In this case, translation errors are not even the biggest evil. Against the background of the rest of King's works, the “Lot” stands out strongly. Cadman Publishing House translated a novel from an English edition that lacked several pages. What did the translator do? Turned on fantasy. So in the Russian "Lot" there was a scene of the murder of the leader of the vampires Barlow, which in the original does not exist. Until the end of the 2000s, "The Lot" was published with a gag, and only in 2014 a new translation of the novel with a more precise content and title: "The Lot of Salem" fell on the shelves.
Games
Usually Sony doesn’t make “crooked” localizations, but the excellent game The Last of Us, unfortunately, has become an exception. In its Russian version, many practically semantic changes were made - as if the translators knew better what the developers wanted to convey to the audience.
In one scene, a girl named Ellie rescues her "partner" Joel from a bandit, after which a conversation ensues. Its essence is that Joel is dissatisfied with salvation, and Ally hints that he might be at least a little grateful. In the next scene, Joel says thank you. In the original, everything is different. Joel does not thank the girl, but ends with the phrase a la "but either he or me", to which Ellie sarcastically replies: "Please." This fundamentally changes the mood of the conversation and “breaks” the built characters. Joel is a stubborn man who in his life will not say "thank you." Actually, the original does not say that it once again emphasizes its essence ... There are dozens of similar critical mistakes in localization. What can we say about the Russian name of the game: “One of us” - even a schoolboy knows that “last” means “last”.
***
In the localization of Call of Duty: Black Ops III there are also tons of stupid mistakes. According to the “magic” of translators, the phrase “Well, your way out” turns into “Like this”, and “Roger that” (“Accepted”) - for some reason, into “Amen”. It seems to be little things, but it hits the brain. Further more. One of the characters says: "While they are busy with the crash, in this form we can slip through." After the translation, the original meaning disappeared somewhere: "As long as they are busy with the crashed plane, we will be able to slip through." And this is at the very beginning of the game. However, the attraction of ignorance continues until the end credits. Male characters for no reason turn into female characters, phrases are seriously distorted or completely disappear ... Perhaps Call of Duty: Black Ops III is one of the most terrible examples of localization into Russian in the history of video games. But this is also one of the highest budget games in history ...
Cinema The
cult action movie Die Hard with Bruce Willis is known in the former Soviet Union as "Die Hard." Once, back in the days of the USSR, Die Hard appeared in the translation of Leonid Volodarsky and Andrei Gavrilov. Volodarsky called the movie "Die Hard, But Worthy," and Gavrilov - "Indestructible." No comments.
The phrase "die hard" was difficult not only for the USSR. In Finland, the name was translated “Through my dead body”, in Poland - “Glass trap”, in Germany - “Die slowly”, in Spain - “Crystal jungle”, in Hungary - “Give your life more expensive”, in Italy - “Crystal trap".
How is the long-suffering “die hard” actually translated? "Stubborn", "unbending", "tenacious". There are many options, but the meaning is the same: Bruce Willis, being head over heels in problems, will not give up and, in the end, will clear everything out. Interestingly, “die hard” also translates to “conservative,” and the main character of the film, John McClain, does not like computers.
***
Localization of movie titles is generally a sore subject. But often the translation is distorted, not because someone is stupid, but rather because they are too smart. The comedy What We Do in the Shadows went on sale in Russia as "Real Ghouls." Of course, in the film we are talking about vampires and others like them, only in the original title there is not a word about ghouls, and this is important. One could simply translate it as “What are we doing in the shade” - and that would be quite enough; a completely unnecessary creative came out. However, perhaps it was a tricky calculation for the mass audience, who was delighted with TNTshny “Real boys”. So to speak, mimicry aimed at triggering a trigger in the minds of ordinary people: “real” - so you have to look. Intelligent comedy as a whole was shamed in the Russian translation.
Advertising
Good advertising is the engine of trade; bad advertising is a stain on reputation. When Pepsi just made it to China, the first thing she did was launch a promotional campaign there under the slogan “Come alive! You're in the Pepsi generation! ”, Which in the Russian version sounds like“ Come alive! You are the Pepsi generation! ” In the advertising market, it was a hit.
The Chinese are hardworking people, they usually do the job "excellent" and do not ask unnecessary questions. Therefore, the slogan was clearly translated, clearly printed in the amount of almost a million pieces and also clearly hung. As agreed - on each unoccupied wall. And everything would be fine, but the meaning of the hieroglyphics that makes up the slogan meant: “Pepsi will make the dust of your dead rise from the graves!” The Chinese were shocked: the West supposedly showed its true face. There you have the Pepsi generation. And so really “liven up”!
***
Far not one Pepsi suffered from a misunderstanding in Chinese open spaces. Coca-Cola has also contributed to the treasury of epic translation errors. The company thought for a long time about a suitable name for sales in China. The problem was that the Chinese did not say Coca-Cola, but Keku-Kela. The expression means “bite the wax tadpole,” and it clearly didn't suit bosses in cool tuxedos.
With the name for the brand, everything was not glued. The company eliminated about 40 thousand spelling variants (!!!) before settling on this option: Koku-Kole. This time there were no tadpoles, but nonetheless: “Koku-Kole” is “Happiness in the mouth” ...
Politics
How to worsen relations between Russia and the United States so much that in the end it will lead to the Caribbean crisis? That's right: choose a suitable translator!
This was an important historical moment. November 18, 1956. First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev speaks at the Polish Embassy. The speech ends with a joke: “We will also bury you!” The translator was correct, dictated as is, but he did not know that the idioms were insidious. The next day, Western newspapers were full of headlines in the style: "Khrushchev promised to bury the whole Western world!" One phrase taken out of context - and now the whole world is trembling in the face of Soviet nuclear weapons.
The full expression sounded like “Like it or not, but the story is on our side. We will bury you ”and meant only that socialism, and subsequently communism, is more efficient and, therefore, survives capitalism. A few years later, Khrushchev explained that “he didn’t mean literally digging out the grave with a shovel, but only that capitalism would destroy his own working class” ...
***
It's scary to joke around politics. In December 1977, US President Jimmy Carter went on a visit to Poland. Everything was calm until the translator began to carry nonsense. Jimmy Carter's words have been thoroughly changed. The expression "When I left the United States" turned into "When I finally left the United States." The phrase "Our nation was founded on ..." sounded like "When our nation was woven." In the sentence, “Almost six million Americans are of Polish origin,” the synchronized synchronizer made a knight's move and issued: “Poland is the birthplace of ten million Americans.”
This incident, which almost turned into an international scandal, was remembered by the Poles for a long time. The translator did not think about the fact that the president could not completely abandon the United States, because at least this is not true, and at the very least - complete nonsense.
***
The word is a great power! Check the original and trust only competent translators. Perhaps someday the day will come when humanity will stop making mistakes, but we certainly will not catch it.
Nevertheless, if you do not want your company to join the ranks of those whom we mentioned above, it is better to turn to professional translators . You can become famous in a less painful way for business.
We decided to recall one of the most epic mistakes made by unprofessional translators. Cry and laugh with us.
Literature
Perhaps there is not a single book about the young wizard Harry Potter from the publishing house "Rosman", where there would be no terrifying blunders. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is chock full of expressions in the spirit of "dusty color", "breathlessness" and "washed air." Hermione with Hagrid on "You." Voldemort, as it turned out, was dying many times, which is weakly matched with the plot of past books. Here is more evidence that the translators did not bother reading the whole story of Harry. The Deathly Hallows characters go over the places where Tom Riddle was killed. But Harry only killed him once!
That is far from all. The same spells in different places of the book are translated in different ways. The word "God" is printed with a small, then with a capital letter. Meanwhile, Rosman is proud of the translators with whom it collaborates. And dissatisfied with the translation, according to the commercial director of the publishing house, they are just mediocre in English ...
***
From what happened with the translations of Stephen King's books in Russia of the 90s, the king of horrors would probably be crazy. The novels "Radiance", "Kujo", "Long Walk", "Dead Zone", "Pet Cemetery" and others were reduced to one degree or another. In this case, translation errors are not even the biggest evil. Against the background of the rest of King's works, the “Lot” stands out strongly. Cadman Publishing House translated a novel from an English edition that lacked several pages. What did the translator do? Turned on fantasy. So in the Russian "Lot" there was a scene of the murder of the leader of the vampires Barlow, which in the original does not exist. Until the end of the 2000s, "The Lot" was published with a gag, and only in 2014 a new translation of the novel with a more precise content and title: "The Lot of Salem" fell on the shelves.
Games
Usually Sony doesn’t make “crooked” localizations, but the excellent game The Last of Us, unfortunately, has become an exception. In its Russian version, many practically semantic changes were made - as if the translators knew better what the developers wanted to convey to the audience.
In one scene, a girl named Ellie rescues her "partner" Joel from a bandit, after which a conversation ensues. Its essence is that Joel is dissatisfied with salvation, and Ally hints that he might be at least a little grateful. In the next scene, Joel says thank you. In the original, everything is different. Joel does not thank the girl, but ends with the phrase a la "but either he or me", to which Ellie sarcastically replies: "Please." This fundamentally changes the mood of the conversation and “breaks” the built characters. Joel is a stubborn man who in his life will not say "thank you." Actually, the original does not say that it once again emphasizes its essence ... There are dozens of similar critical mistakes in localization. What can we say about the Russian name of the game: “One of us” - even a schoolboy knows that “last” means “last”.
***
In the localization of Call of Duty: Black Ops III there are also tons of stupid mistakes. According to the “magic” of translators, the phrase “Well, your way out” turns into “Like this”, and “Roger that” (“Accepted”) - for some reason, into “Amen”. It seems to be little things, but it hits the brain. Further more. One of the characters says: "While they are busy with the crash, in this form we can slip through." After the translation, the original meaning disappeared somewhere: "As long as they are busy with the crashed plane, we will be able to slip through." And this is at the very beginning of the game. However, the attraction of ignorance continues until the end credits. Male characters for no reason turn into female characters, phrases are seriously distorted or completely disappear ... Perhaps Call of Duty: Black Ops III is one of the most terrible examples of localization into Russian in the history of video games. But this is also one of the highest budget games in history ...
Cinema The
cult action movie Die Hard with Bruce Willis is known in the former Soviet Union as "Die Hard." Once, back in the days of the USSR, Die Hard appeared in the translation of Leonid Volodarsky and Andrei Gavrilov. Volodarsky called the movie "Die Hard, But Worthy," and Gavrilov - "Indestructible." No comments.
The phrase "die hard" was difficult not only for the USSR. In Finland, the name was translated “Through my dead body”, in Poland - “Glass trap”, in Germany - “Die slowly”, in Spain - “Crystal jungle”, in Hungary - “Give your life more expensive”, in Italy - “Crystal trap".
How is the long-suffering “die hard” actually translated? "Stubborn", "unbending", "tenacious". There are many options, but the meaning is the same: Bruce Willis, being head over heels in problems, will not give up and, in the end, will clear everything out. Interestingly, “die hard” also translates to “conservative,” and the main character of the film, John McClain, does not like computers.
***
Localization of movie titles is generally a sore subject. But often the translation is distorted, not because someone is stupid, but rather because they are too smart. The comedy What We Do in the Shadows went on sale in Russia as "Real Ghouls." Of course, in the film we are talking about vampires and others like them, only in the original title there is not a word about ghouls, and this is important. One could simply translate it as “What are we doing in the shade” - and that would be quite enough; a completely unnecessary creative came out. However, perhaps it was a tricky calculation for the mass audience, who was delighted with TNTshny “Real boys”. So to speak, mimicry aimed at triggering a trigger in the minds of ordinary people: “real” - so you have to look. Intelligent comedy as a whole was shamed in the Russian translation.
Advertising
Good advertising is the engine of trade; bad advertising is a stain on reputation. When Pepsi just made it to China, the first thing she did was launch a promotional campaign there under the slogan “Come alive! You're in the Pepsi generation! ”, Which in the Russian version sounds like“ Come alive! You are the Pepsi generation! ” In the advertising market, it was a hit.
The Chinese are hardworking people, they usually do the job "excellent" and do not ask unnecessary questions. Therefore, the slogan was clearly translated, clearly printed in the amount of almost a million pieces and also clearly hung. As agreed - on each unoccupied wall. And everything would be fine, but the meaning of the hieroglyphics that makes up the slogan meant: “Pepsi will make the dust of your dead rise from the graves!” The Chinese were shocked: the West supposedly showed its true face. There you have the Pepsi generation. And so really “liven up”!
***
Far not one Pepsi suffered from a misunderstanding in Chinese open spaces. Coca-Cola has also contributed to the treasury of epic translation errors. The company thought for a long time about a suitable name for sales in China. The problem was that the Chinese did not say Coca-Cola, but Keku-Kela. The expression means “bite the wax tadpole,” and it clearly didn't suit bosses in cool tuxedos.
With the name for the brand, everything was not glued. The company eliminated about 40 thousand spelling variants (!!!) before settling on this option: Koku-Kole. This time there were no tadpoles, but nonetheless: “Koku-Kole” is “Happiness in the mouth” ...
Politics
How to worsen relations between Russia and the United States so much that in the end it will lead to the Caribbean crisis? That's right: choose a suitable translator!
This was an important historical moment. November 18, 1956. First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev speaks at the Polish Embassy. The speech ends with a joke: “We will also bury you!” The translator was correct, dictated as is, but he did not know that the idioms were insidious. The next day, Western newspapers were full of headlines in the style: "Khrushchev promised to bury the whole Western world!" One phrase taken out of context - and now the whole world is trembling in the face of Soviet nuclear weapons.
The full expression sounded like “Like it or not, but the story is on our side. We will bury you ”and meant only that socialism, and subsequently communism, is more efficient and, therefore, survives capitalism. A few years later, Khrushchev explained that “he didn’t mean literally digging out the grave with a shovel, but only that capitalism would destroy his own working class” ...
***
It's scary to joke around politics. In December 1977, US President Jimmy Carter went on a visit to Poland. Everything was calm until the translator began to carry nonsense. Jimmy Carter's words have been thoroughly changed. The expression "When I left the United States" turned into "When I finally left the United States." The phrase "Our nation was founded on ..." sounded like "When our nation was woven." In the sentence, “Almost six million Americans are of Polish origin,” the synchronized synchronizer made a knight's move and issued: “Poland is the birthplace of ten million Americans.”
This incident, which almost turned into an international scandal, was remembered by the Poles for a long time. The translator did not think about the fact that the president could not completely abandon the United States, because at least this is not true, and at the very least - complete nonsense.
***
The word is a great power! Check the original and trust only competent translators. Perhaps someday the day will come when humanity will stop making mistakes, but we certainly will not catch it.
Nevertheless, if you do not want your company to join the ranks of those whom we mentioned above, it is better to turn to professional translators . You can become famous in a less painful way for business.
