OK...you would be excused in believing I clearly have too much time on my hands, which I do not. I’m just biding time until we take off!
I (as many of us do) have a chuckle when I find those funny signs or menus written in Chinglish (to which whole websites have been dedicated like engrish.com), but it was refreshing and amusing to read about just the opposite on China Hush. Some very poor judgements made in choosing life lasting tattoos...written in, well, Englese! I won’t be listing them, but you may like to take a look.
Brisbane’s China Town...and what about China Town? I sincerely hope that the Brisbane City Council, in its infinite wisdom, took the time and money to ensure we have not littered China Town with similarly ridiculous signs.
I’m really interested in what new comers to Australia think when they arrive. Are we hospitable as a nation? What do some people find odd about us or our customs?
It’s hard to gauge this, because if you do find such a blog, it’s usually not in English. With the help of Google Translate (GT) I was able to establish that there is something odd going on in my neck of the woods according to Vitta at ‘Australia – No Country For Old Men’. You’ll have to excuse GT’s Spanglish.
"Did you Know That "....
... People often go barefoot in the street?
The first time I thought - "Look at this poor, confused." Like when you were going to small school with slippers around the house. But no, these people do not forget because I have not seen either one or two, and he thought - "why?" -. No idea, dear @, I have no idea ....
We do???????? Or is there something really wrong with Google Translate today? No, because in the comments I found...
"Apparently, Australians from other cities, also are surprised when they see the Queensland go barefoot to the grocery, dry cleaners, and + to do. Therefore, it is officially confirmed that it is an unsolved paranormal phenomenon typical of the area.
Being...well...me! I couldn’t help but leave a comment/advice - ‘perhaps you are living in a really poor area or near a beach?’ I was deadly serious.
I have since established the fact that Vitta’s in Brisbane and I’d really love to know where, so I can steer clear of the barefooted area. Vitta quite rightly points out our even more bizarre fluctuating fuel prices.
"Did you Know That "....
... In Australia the price of gasoline varies depending on the day of the week?
Fill the tank from Monday to Thursday is 20% cheaper to do it on weekends or holidays. "Weird right?”
Yes Vitta, it is weird and should be illegal.
GT enables me to observe the observations of ‘Chilangos Invades Australia’ who points out that the reason Australia is not a ‘republic is that its population does not want to sacrifice the holiday to be given the Queen's birthday’. Sounds about right to me!
GT can be of great help at times and at others, a source of warped amusement. Sometimes I think it maybe under the influence, of what, I’m not sure of yet.
One night Stray and I were trying to decipher what was happening on a Vietnamese friend’s Facebook wall.
No problem! I fired up Google Translator and copy/pasted/translated the paragraph. This is GT’s result:
‘trade replaced the default is the legendary O Huyen ơi! Why do you give me that under the old tools ... monks saddle 1cm from the child machine is like a word about dual antennas sticking up next to the pan Results’
What the?????????????
So funny can the ‘lost in translation’ factor be, that it too has inspired websites like Convey This and its 'Bad Translator'. See, I’m not alone. Ideally you enter in a phrase which is translated back and forth by Google Translate, via various languages, with every second language being back to English, for a minimum of 10 times. So I gave it a shot. Thus, after the maximum of 56 translations....
‘Australians all let us rejoice for we are young and free’
becomes
‘Welcome to Turkey, no matter happens’.
Sure, I can see how one could arrive at that translation! If I were as high as a kite.
It’s even funnier to skim over the whole process (at the end of this posting)....God only knows how New Zealand creeps in and back out again, but it’s not until near the very end that Turkey sees fit to take over completely.
Warning: Google Translate can be harmful to your health if operated while using half a brain.
Australians all let us rejoice for we are young and free!
AFRIKAANS : Australiërs laat ons jubel almal, want ons is jonk en vry
Back to ENGLISH : Australians all let us rejoice for we are young and free
ALBANIAN : Australianët të gjithë le të gëzohen për ne janë të rinj dhe të lirë
Back to ENGLISH : Australians all let us rejoice for we are young and free
ARABIC : اسمحوا لنا جميع الاستراليين نبتهج لأننا صغار وحرة
Back to ENGLISH : Let us all rejoice for we Australians young and free
BELARUSIAN : Давайце радавацца мы аўстралійцы малады і свабоднай
Back to ENGLISH : Let us rejoice, we Australians are young and free
BULGARIAN : Нека бъдем радостни, ние австралийците са млади и свободни
Back to ENGLISH : Let us rejoice, we Australians are young and free
CATALAN : Alegrem-nos, que els australians són joves i lliures
Back to ENGLISH : Let us rejoice, that Australians are young and free
CHINESE : 让我们高兴，这是年轻和自由的澳大利亚人
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happy, which is young and free Australian
CHINESE_SIMPLIFIED : 让我们快乐，这是年轻和自由的澳大利亚
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
CHINESE_TRADITIONAL : 讓我們幸福，這是年輕和自由的澳大利亞
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
CROATIAN : Neka nam sreća, to je mlad i slobodan australske
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
CZECH : Dovolte nám štěstí, to je mladý a drzý australské
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
DANISH : Lad os lykke, det er ung og fri australske
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
DUTCH : Laten we ons gelukkig maakt, is het jonge en vrije Australische
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
Back to ENGLISH : Let us happiness, it is young and free Australian
ESTONIAN : Olgem õnne, ta on noor ja vaba Austraalia
Back to ENGLISH : Let's be happy, he is young and free Australian
FILIPINO : Let's maging masaya, siya ay kabataan at libre sa Australya
Back to ENGLISH : Let's be happy, he is young and free in Australia
FINNISH : Let's olla onnellinen, hän on nuori ja vapaa Australiassa
Back to ENGLISH : Let's be happy, he is young and free in Australia
FRENCH : Soyons heureux, il est jeune et libre en Australie
Back to ENGLISH : Be happy, he is young and free in Australia
GALICIAN : Sexa feliz, é nova e libre en Australia
Back to ENGLISH : Be happy, it's new and free in Australia
GERMAN : Seien Sie glücklich, es ist neu und kostenlos in Australien
Back to ENGLISH : Be happy, it is new and free in Australia
GREEK : Να είναι ευτυχισμένος, είναι νέο και ελεύθερο στην Αυστραλία
Back to ENGLISH : Be happy, be new and free to Australia
HAITIAN_CREOLE : Dwe kontan, se pou nouvo ak gratis Ostrali
Back to ENGLISH : Have to be happy, be free and the new Australia
HEBREW : האם כדי להיות מאושר, להיות חופשי ואת אוסטרליה החדש
Back to ENGLISH : Whether to be happy, be free and the new Australia
HINDI : चाहे खुशी हो, स्वतंत्र और ऑस्ट्रेलिया नए हो
Back to ENGLISH : Whether happy, independent and Australia are new
HUNGARIAN : Hogy a boldog, független és Ausztrália új
Back to ENGLISH : To the happy, independent and Australia New
ICELANDIC : Til hamingju, óháðum og Ástralía Nýja-
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, independent Australia and New
INDONESIAN : Selamat, Australia independen dan Baru
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, an independent Australian and New
IRISH : Comhghairdeas, neamhspleách ar na hAstráile agus an Nua
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, independent of the Australian and New
ITALIAN : Congratulazioni, indipendente dal dell'Australia e della Nuova
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, independent from Australia and New
JAPANESE : おめでとう、オーストラリア、ニュージーランドから独立して
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand independent
KOREAN : 축하해, 호주, 뉴질랜드, 독립
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, an independent
LATVIAN : Apsveicam, Austrālija, Jaunzēlande, neatkarīgu
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, an independent
LITHUANIAN : Sveikiname, Australija, Naujoji Zelandija, nepriklausomas
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, an independent
MACEDONIAN : Честитки, Австралија, Нов Зеланд, независна
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, an independent
MALAY : Selamat, Australia, New Zealand, yang bebas
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, an independent
MALTESE : Prosit, Awstralja, New Zealand, indipendenti
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, independent
NORWEGIAN : Gratulerer, Australia, New Zealand, uavhengig
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless
PERSIAN : تبریک می گویم ، استرالیا ، نیوزیلند ، بدون در نظر گرفتن
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
POLISH : Gratulacje, Australia, Nowa Zelandia, niezależnie od
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
PORTUGUESE : Parabéns, Austrália, Nova Zelândia, independentemente da
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
PORTUGUESE_PORTUGAL : Parabéns, Austrália, Nova Zelândia, independentemente da
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
ROMANIAN : Felicitări, Australia, Noua Zeelandă, indiferent de
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
RUSSIAN : Поздравляем, Австралии, Новой Зеландии, независимо от
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
SERBIAN : Честитамо, Аустралија, Нови Зеланд, без обзира на
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
SLOVAK : Gratuluji, Austrália, Nový Zéland, bez ohľadu na
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, irrespective of
SLOVENIAN : Čestitke, Avstralija, Nova Zelandija, ne glede na
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, irrespective of
SPANISH : Felicitaciones, Australia, Nueva Zelanda, con independencia de
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, irrespective of
SWAHILI : Hongera, Australia, New Zealand, bila kujali
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
SWEDISH : Grattis, Australien, Nya Zeeland, oavsett
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless of
TAGALOG : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, anuman ang
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations, Australia, New Zealand, regardless
THAI : ขอแสดงความยินดีออสเตรเลียโดยไม่คำนึงถึง
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations Australia regardless.
TURKISH : Tebrikler Türkiye ne olursa olsun.
Back to ENGLISH : Congratulations to Turkey regardless of what happens.
UKRAINIAN : Вітання до Туреччини незалежно від того, відбувається.
Back to ENGLISH : Welcome to Turkey regardless of happening.
VIETNAMESE : Chào mừng đến với Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ, bất kể xảy ra.
Back to ENGLISH : Welcome to Turkey, no matter happens.
WELSH : Croeso i Dwrci, dim ots digwydd.
Back to ENGLISH : Welcome to Turkey, no matter happens.
YIDDISH : ברוכים הבאים צו טערקיי, קיין שטאָף טרעפֿט.
Back to ENGLISH : Welcome to Turkey, no matter happens.
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4 comments:
Sweet! I used to play around with Bablefish years and years ago. It was great fun conversing with a friend with no French, against my [cough] [cough] French skills.
(if my former French teachers were dead, they'd be rolling around right about now).
'the Queensland go barefoot to the grocery, dry cleaners...'
In California they had to pass a law against driving while barefoot. I didn't see the sense in that either. Yes to being barefoot - no to the law.
But now they are busy passing other useless laws, I'm sure.
Hi Catherine
You'd think they would pass a law against driving in ridiculously high shoes, not bare feet.
Even though I have given Google Translator a bashing, I am sure I will continue to use it...perhaps not for learning Thai :) I am looking forward to my language course, but am a little nervous also.
Snap I've had similar problems with Google Translate, I often wonder if its had one too many G&T's.
I often use it to translate Udon Thani football club's website and well, what a mess it makes of it. I question why I bother.
I wonder if you started off with Turkey perhaps you'd end up with Australians.
Martyn, we definitely have the same sense of humour ;)
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