Learning another language is always useful. You can read books in their original language. It makes it easier to communicate with locals when you're traveling. You might also woo your long-time crush with some French (after all, it is the most romantic language in the world.)
But after seeing the entries in this list, you will probably think it's also useful to not get misleading directions. One might think that the language of signs is universal. Yet, it seems when there are different alphabets involved, all bets are off. Scroll through our selection of the goofiest translations from the Translation Gone Wrong Facebook page and let us know your favorites below!
And who could tell us more about the woes of translators if not one of their own? Thus, Bored Panda reached out to audiovisual translator Dot Roberts. She not only translates subtitles for movies, TV shows, marketing videos to and from German, Dutch and English, but she does subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing people as well.
Dot also hosts the podcast Meet The Translator, where she interviews experts in the field. Read her insights on the profession below and find out what her personal favorite ‘failed translation’ is!
More info: Translation Gone Wrong | Dot Roberts | LinkedIn | Meet The Translator Podcast | Instagram
#1 Fortune Cookies: "You Will Gain Admiration From Your Pears."
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Just like any other profession, translation requires many years of hard work and dedication. In this case, it's all about studying languages. Translator Dot Roberts told us about her journey towards becoming a professional translator. "I started learning German at school when I was 12 and I really enjoyed it. It was one of my favorite subjects," Dot says.
She continued to learn German and after graduating, went to Berlin to work as an au pair. Dutch came into the picture when she started her university years. Since she liked translation as a subject so much, she decided to pursue a Master's in Translation Studies at the University of Manchester.
#2 Sunday Mood
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#3
Image credits: 30mintranslate
While doing her Master's, Dot started doing freelance work. First at her part-time employer LUSH, later for Wayfair. "I built up my experience with them before taking on other clients and getting more into subtitling," the translator shares.
"I never really purposefully chose this profession," Dot admits. "I just always pursued the things I enjoyed the most and it sort of led me here. I love the projects I get to work on and I have so much fun doing my work and being part of the wonderful translator community."
#4 Brilliant
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#5 Rebellious Freezer!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#6
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Nowadays, her job isn’t just about doing translation and subtitling. Dot also hosts her own podcast called Meet the Translator. She chats with different translators about various topics relating to the industry. Don’t hesitate to give it a listen if board game, video game and sports translation and localization sound intriguing to you!
#7 !! Warning !!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#8 Whatever Blows Your Bubble
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#9 What About A Carrot Phone?
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Dot is also a speaker at translation conferences and runs an annual audiovisual translation workshop with a colleague for students at the University of Manchester. "I love supporting new and aspiring translators and showing them how much fun the job can be!" Dot gushes.
#10 Isn't This Your Definition Of Great Customer Service?
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#11 How Not To Encourage Your Children To Clean Up After Themselves
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#12 Or Else..!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
What are the most important skills a translator should have? As we've seen from this list, language proficiency should be at the top of the list. Dot agrees but also tells Bored Panda another important characteristic most people wouldn’t think to name.
"Your target language skills are actually more important than your source language skills," the translator believes. She says that a translator needs to be a really good writer in their target language.
#13 Behave Yourself!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#14 Bathroom Feminism
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#15 Don't You Agree?
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Another important skill a good translator should learn, according to Dot, is to communicate clearly with clients. "I’d say you need to have good research skills and good communication skills. It’s important to have a strong relationship with your clients so you know exactly what it is they need you to do and you feel comfortable enough to ask them questions."
#16 Or Not!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#17 Here You Can Even Steal For Free
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#18 A Quick Visit!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
This skill can come in handy when the translation can be ambiguous and there are multiple potential interpretations. Dot recommends asking the client for context in these cases. "There’s a joke about translators always asking for context, but it’s true. There can be hundreds of different ways to translate something, so context is key if you want it to actually make sense," the translator says.
#19 Get In Line, Guys!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#20 This Supermarked Has It All
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#21 Let's Give It A Taste!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Currently, one of the hottest questions in the translation field is the growing presence of AI. "It’s definitely been a hot topic in the industry, with an increasing number of conference talks popping up about it," Dot agrees. Yet, she says that we're still figuring out how translators can get the maximum benefits.
#22 Sunday Morning Coffee Anyone?
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#23 Cash, Please. I Left My Octopus At Home
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#24
Image credits: 30mintranslate
"Machine translation has been around for a while and it’s definitely getting better," Dot observes. "But it’s still not as good as human translation and I doubt it really ever will be."
She tells us she's seeing more translators offering MTPE (machine translation post-editing) as a service. MTPE means that a translator reviews and improves machine-translated text to make it more accurate and fluent.
#25 Some Last Moment
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#26 A Revolutionary New Marketing Strategy
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#27 Carefully Slip And Fall Into The Weekend
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Dot also says that she's aware of some automatic subtitle translation software. "But from what I’ve seen so far, it’s not amazing," she says honestly. Her outlook overall is positive.
"A lot of people are concerned about the future of translation with AI. But I think the more we understand it, the more we can hopefully use it to our advantage. It’ll be interesting to see how AI develops and shapes the industry!"
#28 Not Feel Well - Get Drunk
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#29 Literally Lost In Translation
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#30 Happy Post-Super Bowel!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
Naturally, we had to ask Dot if she has a favorite translation mishap. It's not hers, but one that she saw in Beijing while studying. "I think my favorite was in one of our textbooks. There was a list of dishes and their translations, and one of them was ‘squirrel sample fish’. Safe to say, I never ordered that one," Dot adds.
#31 Hygiene Tip Of The Day
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#32 Ouch!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#33 Do Not Diet, It's Friday!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#34 Watch Out!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#35 New Year - New Taste
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#36 Hide And Seek - Toilets, Your Turn!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#37 -What's Up? -Sunshine!
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#38 Who's Hungry?
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#39 Pls Wait Outside A Noodle. Say What?
Image credits: 30mintranslate
#40 Happy Valentine's Day! I Love You, Ok? - Your Telephone
Image credits: 30mintranslate
