Some years ago you could see in the Basque Country some bad translations that hopefully have already disappeared. I remember this one that somebody put at a bus stop:
In Spanish:
Horario: mañana y tarde. (Schedule: morning and afternoon)<o:p></o:p>
Basque translation:
Ordutegia: bihar eta berandu (schedule: tomorrow and late)
There are also more
funny translations in this video:
<o:p></o:p>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oQWMdp_sv8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oQWMdp_sv8</a><o:p></o:p>;
This is a classic sketch!
Well, in portuguese we have many wird and funny translations, but one I'll always remember is when they just left (in Rio's bus station) a sign reading like this:
Bebedouro (tradução)
Tradução means translation, so instead of putting the translation on the sign, they must have forgotten, and just left the word translation in portuguese over there.
Anyway, we a long tradition of funny translations over here in Brazil. Like during the world cup, when people decided we needed our signs to be bilingual Pt-En, and then, obviously, some master pieces were made (as one can check here, for example http://www.megacurioso.com.br/copa-do-mundo-2014/44531-16-traducoes-hilarias-de-placas-e-avisos-em-ingles-feitos-para-a-copa.htm). But my favorite one was like this:
We have a city called Ceilândia. Sei, meaning "I know", has the same pronunciation as "Cei". "Lândia" is a suffix we add to some places meaning like, "land" or "city" (it obviously comes from English).
So the authorities translated CEILÂNDIA as I KNOW LAND.
I was just in Barcelona and I saw a bad translation of a safety sign next to the lift in the hotel where I was staying.
The sign in Spanish said: No usar en caso de incendio.
In English the translation was: Do not use in case of fire.
Now to me, what that sign says is that you cannot ever use the lift, because there is the possibility that one day, potentially, there could be a fire. Now obviously that is not the intended meaning, they mean if there is a fire you shouldn't use the lift.
In English the correct translation should be something like: Do not use the lift in the event of fire.
Just something that made me laugh on my recent travels.
In Seville airport in July 2014 I saw signs in the men's toilets which said:
Agua potable en los lavabos translated as Drinking water in the lavatories.
(An unfortunate false friend - lavabo (sink, washhand basin) and lavatory (toilet) seemed to be to blame).
I didn't risk it!
Paul
The current rules of security are, indeed, very strict.
Yo misma vi en un ascensor un aviso que decía: En caso de incendio no usen el ascensor. Y más abajo alguien había escrito: Usen el extintor :)
