A few months ago I shared a couple of posts on translation (post 1 and post 2). Wes Kenney also offered up a couple of interesting translations.
I share here a few translation excerpts from Richard Lederer’s book Anguished English.
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At the climax of John F. Kennedy’s impassioned speech in 1963 at the Berlin Wall, the President had wanted to say, “Ich bin Berliner!”–”I am a Berliner!”–since in German, words for nationalities are not preceded by articles. What Kennedy actually said was, “Ich bin ein Berliner!”–”I am a jelly doughnut!”
During a tour of Poland, President Jimmy Carter attempted to convey the message “I have a strong desire to know the Polish people.” Through an inept translator the message emerged as “I desire the Polish people carnally.”
When Pepsi-Cola invaded the huge Chinese market, the product’s slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi generation,” was rendered (or should I say rent?) into Chinese as “Pepsi brings back your dead ancestors!”
While in Frankfurt (appropriately), I once asked a German storekeeper for a “heisser hund“–literally “a hot dog.” He burst out laughing, as “heisser hund” in German suggests a dog in heat.
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Click Here for my review of Anguished English.
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