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19 March 2013

Pics of the Day: Lost In Translation




In an airport?: What appears to be a 'Careful: Slippery surface' sign has been labelled 'Be careful of landslide' in this Chinese bathroom



From The Daily Mail:

Foreign airports can be scary and confusing places with any number of dangers just waiting to trip you up - especially if the warning signs are all in Chinese.

So to keep safe, just remember to avoid 'landslides' in the lounge, the 'flesh juice' in the canteen and the 'mind crotch' on the stairs... and whatever you do, never 'bomb into the ash' in the smoking area.

But if you ever do fall foul of any of these hidden perils, remember... you can always pull the 'Emergency Door Cock'.

These are just some of the bizarre - and befuddling - translations of everyday signage pictured in airports across the Far East. And they make for a rather baffling read.

Visitors to airports across Asia captured some of the more amusing translations, posting their pictures of signs and labels on an online blog.



A row of seats in one Chinese airport has been reserved for the 'old, weak and pregnant'

 
 
Appetising: A sign in Japan advertises fresh fruit juice is translated as a rather less appetising 'flesh juice' 


 

Befuddling: If you don't know what a mind crotch is, then it is best to avoid this Chinese airport, while smokers in Beijing International Airport should never 'bomb into the ash here', right



Unnerving: If you ever do fall foul of any of these hidden perils, remember... you can always pull the 'Emergency Door Cock' at Taipei Airport in Taiwan


Found on everything from poorly translated signs and menus to bizarrely worded adverts and strange t-shirt slogans the mis-use of English can be found everywhere.

The results include simple translations that have been worded perhaps more bluntly than European travellers might be used to - such as a row of seats reserved for the 'old, weak and pregnant'.

Passengers at one airport were informed that their flight had been 'delayed for some reasons'.



 Helpful: A series of photographs posted on an online blog details bizarre and hilarious English translations in airports across Asia 



Communication breakdown: A toilet has been reserved for the 'weal only' (left) while a metal bin before airport security has been designated as a 'liquid abandoned place' 



Nappy swap: Travellers are informed of an unusual in-flight service, a 'baby diaper exchange' 



Blunt: , right, while a bin has usefully been designated for 'unrecycling' waste


The vernacular mismatch also leads to a bin labelled for 'unrecycling' and a useful sign telling people to 'mind crotch'.

Since being posted online, the signs gone viral as internet-users share them with friends and send in other wacky suggestions they've found themselves on their travels.

Other translations have been confused as much for cultural as linguistic reasons, evidenced by what appears to be 'careful: slippery surface' sign, labelled 'Be careful of landslide'.

There is also a charity donation box asking travellers to donate cash to help 'especially difficult children'. It is almost full to the brim.


 
Muddle: Even the most considerate of travellers might find it difficult to understand this message


 
Romance: For sanitation purposes you should only share your can with a lover



Full: It might prove a rather difficult task to squeeze any more money into this box for 'especially difficult children'


Meanwhile a Japanese sign asks parents, not, apparently, to throw away their child's dirty nappies, but to take them to the 'baby diaper exchange'.

Some are so confusing that it is impossible to even guess what the sign is asking frequent fliers to do, such as a sign above the door of a Chinese aeroplane that asks passengers to 'Gets hold of arm rest to fall the wound carefully'.

There is even a Chinese vending machine that urges thirsty travellers not to share their cans of drink with anyone - unless they are 'not the lovers'.


 
Mannerly: Visitors are welcomed by a sign telling them they are entering a 'civilized airport' 



 Parent and child: Users of an escalator are told to look after their 'oldster' as well as child


 
Honest mistake: A simple misspelling labels a 'fire fydrant'




http://tinyurl.com/cq2qrax

 



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