A warning to lazy proofreaders…
This story serves as a warning to those who don’t double-check translations before publishing them — in this case in a very public spot.
Officials in Wales mistakenly erected a road sign that read “I am not in the office at the moment” in Welsh after a translation mix-up. The sign originally said in English, “No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only,” but when Swansea Council officials sent it to be translated, they received an automated e-mail written in Welsh that read: “I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated.”
Unaware of the actual meaning of the e-mail, officials had the sign printed and put up near a supermarket, only realising their mistake when Welsh speakers pointed it out.
While ultimately harmless, the story makes me wonder what would have happened if a less pedestrian email message had been published without proofing.
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I’ve seen this story posted a ton of places online and it’s interesting what translators have to say about it. Nearly everyone faults the person who received the translation and accepted it as the proper translation. I think, however, that at least part, if not all, of the fault lies with the translator. The client had no way of knowing what the translator actually sent back. The client just assumed that what the translator wrote was the necessary translation. Whenever I send a translation back to a client, I don’t assume that they they are going to have it proofread by someone else. I assume that they trust what I have given them. Obviously in this case, the the client trusted the translator and had no need to have the “translation” proofread. The translator should have at least included multiple languages in the out-of-office reply to avoid this type of confusion.
Comment by Clint — November 15, 2008 @ 3:58 pm