Then we'll grab a bite at 404 Not Found
Of all the poorly translated signs that can baffle English-speaking visitors to China, this one takes the cake for the most epic of all possible fails. And, as Dear Jane Sample notes, it’s also a good reason to invest in something more than a Web-based translator. —Posted by David Griner |
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hey if the chinese are happy with it then let them be.. why dont all of you shut the fuck up?
Posted by: Daniel | Aug 3, 2008 1:58:43 AM
It is a classic, but be honest, you and I could make the exact same mistake in reverse and be none the wiser.
Posted by: Steve | Aug 3, 2008 2:06:07 AM
Marty, you stupid skullfucker... way to go. You rephrased the story itself.
Posted by: Nick | Aug 3, 2008 2:48:12 AM
Trotka: "People should learn the damn language if they're going to go there."
Damn right. No one should be permitted to compete in the Olympics unless they first learn the Random Language Of The Year.
Surgeon General Health Warning:
The above post may contain sarcasm.
Posted by: Alsee | Aug 3, 2008 2:58:37 AM
English->Russian->English:
all poorly transferred signs which can puzzle the [anglogovoryashchikh] visitors to whale, this one assumes cake for most of all the epic of all possible to suffer failure. And, as the expensive notes of Jane's model, also the good reason to [proinvestirovat] in something is more than [razmeshchennyy] into The [internetee] translator.
Posted by: | Aug 3, 2008 3:21:18 AM
QUOTE: "Damn right. No one should be permitted to compete in the Olympics unless they first learn the Random Language Of The Year."
It should be "Random Language Of Every Fourth Year"....
Posted by: Donnie | Aug 3, 2008 3:21:32 AM
I wish they'd make a franchise in the US. I'd eat there just because of the name.
Posted by: madking | Aug 3, 2008 3:45:27 AM
To the Chinese and others that may take offense:
Relax.
Yes, it could (and I'm sure it does) happen the other way around or with different combination of languages, and we know. At least the ones with brains.
It's funny, laugh, ha-ha. :-)
Posted by: Pre-emptor | Aug 3, 2008 4:35:36 AM
Really the translation software should have displayed the error outside of the translated text box, so it was clear that the error message was not the translated text, and displayed the error in both languages, someone earlier suggested displaying it in the source language but that would break when someone is trying to translate a piece of foreign text to their own language.
Posted by: Joe | Aug 3, 2008 4:40:07 AM
It's fun but I'd love to know how many of you could distinguish a "translate server error" in chinese from "please don't take your pants off"
Posted by: | Aug 3, 2008 4:43:33 AM
"We were nervous, when Wong clicked that translate button we thought we might end up looking like clowns. Since then though the foreigners have been queuing up to eat here, the crazy guys are even getting their pictures taken outside! I'm telling you, forget those overpriced translation services, www.lousytranslator.com rocks!"
"Well yes, some of the customers do look a bit geeky, but hey, anyones dollar is good as far as I'm concerned!"
Posted by: crab | Aug 3, 2008 5:26:20 AM
yea. but do you own translateservererror.com?
cause i do.
Posted by: ben | Aug 3, 2008 5:30:43 AM
English to Japanese using Google and back to English again using Babelfish:
The sightseer of the baffle English sphere which all signs of translation can be bad in China, this cake, as for all possibilities of most epics it fails to one. The Jane note which becomes love with, as a sample, rather than what legitimate reason investing on other things, it is translation of the Web base to that.
Posted by: TheFuniiiz | Aug 3, 2008 5:39:45 AM
yeh thems chinks aint so bright afterall iz they. damn commies.
Posted by: NonWoot | Aug 3, 2008 6:01:56 AM
English-Chinese-English-Spanish-English Translation:
All the translation' little; the symbol of s possibly disturbs to the English visitor to arrive China, this one adopts plus all the epic poem of the possible defeat the cake. And, it takes the considered note from the sample of Jennie, he is also a sufficient investment of the reason is more than a cradle in Internet' translator of s in something.
Posted by: Elise | Aug 3, 2008 6:16:25 AM
"All your signage are belong to us!"
Posted by: kidvicarious | Aug 3, 2008 6:21:21 AM
dj doubt it:
Here in Sweden gasoline cost about $9/gallon, so stop whining :)
Posted by: GregerG | Aug 3, 2008 6:23:18 AM
Maybe this is not an error.
Perhaps they serve food for the people who work in IT.
Or maybe they are trying to be funny.
Posted by: Hillarious Ben | Aug 3, 2008 6:28:36 AM
I have been to the CeBit 2008 in Hannover and encountered halls full of booths whose captions can be estimated by the following formula:
return rand("Shenzhen ", "Beijing ", "Ming Yao ", "Zhang Li ", "Tsai Chin ", "Ming Hu ") + rand("Electronics", "Technology", "Technologies", "Tech", "Technics", "Systems", "Production") + rand("", " Ltd.");
or for better readability:
(+ (rand '(Shenzhen Beijing (Ming Yao) (Zhang Li) (Tsai Chin) (Ming Hu))) (rand '(Electronics Technology Technologies Tech Technics Systems Production)) (rand '(#f Ltd.)))
I was amazed that most CEOs could hardly understand any of these languages I could speak fluently. Some other offices did not send any employee to Germany, but rather some students of Chinese universities with language and technology knowledge, but unfortunately only little knowledge about the office. They did not even know where to look for the manuals and documents inside the booth even though they were present. Combine this idea with one or two employees and you got a bullet-proof i18n system.
Posted by: Björn Eberhardt | Aug 3, 2008 6:35:29 AM
> And now a translation from English to Chinese, and back:
...
The English output from this is at least as good as half the Usenet posts I see from native "English" speakers. Says a lot about the level of education (and haste/lack of care) of the posters. In fact it's better - as the spelling is correct.
Posted by: Pete | Aug 3, 2008 7:22:16 AM
This is funny. Better to have a mistake that piques the interest of tourists because its unusual, than one that's merely ordinary. They're probably finding more business than usual because of this.
I'm willing to bet that here in the States that there's much worse in badly translated Chinese that gets tatooed on arms or as part of "tramp stamp". lol
Posted by: paul | Aug 3, 2008 8:14:30 AM
And here is the English-German-English translation from Google translate:
Of all the poorly translated may be signs that baffle the English-speaking visitors to China, this one is the cake for the most epic of all possible fail. And like love notes Jane example, it is also a good reason to invest in something more than a web-based translator.
Posted by: | Aug 3, 2008 8:22:44 AM
Isn't that place right down the street from the 404 NOT FOUND Cafe?
Posted by: Ernie G | Aug 3, 2008 8:48:29 AM
That is too funny! I bet we will see more pictures like this over the next few weeks.
Posted by: Sanibel Photographer | Aug 3, 2008 9:27:21 AM
it's going to become a marketing success... :-)
Posted by: Peter Lelie | Aug 3, 2008 9:28:14 AM
译器错
Posted by: Google Translate | Aug 3, 2008 9:34:44 AM
Hah, its probably not a mistake but done on purpose.
Posted by: PJ | Aug 3, 2008 9:37:19 AM
I doubt the restaurant owners really care about the accuracy of the translation. They're probably don't care as long as it's English, and 'Translate Server Error' is definitely English.
I mean, let's face it. This is an Olympics only thing. Most of their regular clientele is going to be Chinese, who won't really care about it either.
True, there are people like us having a laugh over it, but since they are highly unlikely to ever read any of these comment boards, or the original article(s) in question, I guess it's just yet another example of them not caring. :)
Posted by: Irridium | Aug 3, 2008 9:59:47 AM
What you say!! What happen?
Posted by: HowAreYouGentlemen | Aug 3, 2008 10:48:14 AM
It's a franchise!!!
Posted by: Lewisxxxusa | Aug 3, 2008 10:48:24 AM
Move your \'zig\'!
Posted by: Björn Eberhardt | Aug 3, 2008 11:09:13 AM
wait, how do we know they didn't put this into the translator: 翻译服务器错误?
Posted by: devils_advocate | Aug 3, 2008 11:40:43 AM
obviously, they should keep that as a name. in no time, they will be full of hungry geeks.
Posted by: marketing | Aug 3, 2008 12:14:20 PM
I once had a problem with relational databases handling a full web page translation for a self-written cms based loosely on wikipedia, where a google bot was able to wipe out the whole database, and I never discovered what triggered it...
In the end the user could only choose an empty string as the language, and that would be almost always english but some things that received descriptive labels such as date separator became visible
Posted by: Björn Eberhardt | Aug 3, 2008 12:32:38 PM
"Translate Server Error" is a great name for a restaurant.
Posted by: Paff | Aug 3, 2008 1:45:06 PM
Philip K Dick invented 1969 a game based on malfunktion translating computers in his novel Galactic Pot Healer.
Posted by: JF Österman | Aug 3, 2008 1:46:00 PM
Sorry, but this is not "the most epic of all possible fails". That distinction belongs to a Chinese restaurant in Summerfield, NC. It's called Puking Wok. (Google it if you don't believe me.)
Posted by: Pat | Aug 3, 2008 2:15:27 PM
That is hilarious! I love the reference to 404 Not Found.
Poor guys they probably spend a few bucks on the sign too and have no idea what's happened.
Check twice!
Posted by: Free iPhone Backgrounds | Aug 3, 2008 2:23:31 PM
That can be a marketing trick.
Posted by: Thanh Son | Aug 3, 2008 2:32:32 PM
If, as Free iPhone suggests, this is a marketing trick, it is brilliant. This is at least the sixth or seventh time I've seen it.
Posted by: Janine | Aug 3, 2008 4:20:11 PM
This sounds like a destination out of a Neal Stephenson novel. =)
Posted by: Torley Lives | Aug 3, 2008 5:03:15 PM
I would eat there just because of the name.
Posted by: Acid | Aug 3, 2008 7:07:41 PM
why cannot it be an innovate restaurant name of the creative owner:-)
Posted by: cruise | Aug 3, 2008 7:10:10 PM
haha. awesome. So we English speakers get our laughs at their poor English... what's much more hilarious is non-Chinese speakers getting random Chinese character tattoos. What's more is that they're usually in the default Chinese font, kind of like tattooing something in Arial. The laughs go both ways, and tattoos are much more difficult to correct. :)
Posted by: momo | Aug 3, 2008 7:55:51 PM
If I translate "All your base are belong to us." to Chinese and back, I get "All your base are belong to us."
Goes to show.
Posted by: Eric Hill | Aug 3, 2008 8:17:09 PM
The world uses English just as the Internet uses TCP/IP.
Some people says we should learn Chinese when we go to China. I am not a English native, but I find English more practical than my own native Nordic language.
I do not speak bahasa Indonesia, phasa thai, putonghua, bahasa Melayu, or tamil. But I do travel to meet locals that do speak those languages.
How do I communicate? Standardization just like how the Internet work. The world uses English just as the Internet uses TCP/IP.
Posted by: Lars | Aug 3, 2008 8:36:06 PM
the words "dining room" will return those symbols in bablefish english-chinese
Posted by: | Aug 3, 2008 8:45:54 PM
sometimes(9 of 10 times) the Chinese characters in English spoken movies are more funny than that, they are not even a word at all.
Posted by: adam | Aug 3, 2008 10:15:13 PM
haha... why would a translator return an error in english anway... and not in the original language...
Posted by: | Aug 3, 2008 11:11:50 PM
As a professional Japanese translator, I can say that signs like these provide me with a renewed sense of job security.
Posted by: Ichiro | Aug 3, 2008 11:58:26 PM
