Lost in translation

When I was younger, I spent a couple of months travelling around Japan, and I remember a bowling alley in Kyoto had a sign which read, "Let's knock down all the pins and get hot communication!" I'm not sure what it meant, but I'm pretty sure the original meaning was lost in translation.

This week the Charles Fudgemuffin blog takes a look at more signs from around the world where the 'Engrish' version has been lost in translation.

1) Height discrimination

It seems a bit harsh to blame short people as their excuse for closing.

"Bah! Those pesky short people!"

"Sorry we are closed today due to short people."

Lost in translation: Foreign movie titles

Previously on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog, I've featured movies where the Chinese translated title got more than a little lost in translation. This week I spread the net slightly further afield as I take a look at weirdly translated movie titles from all around the world...

"You're going to need a bigger blog."

1) Jaws

As I'm sure everyone knows, Jaws was a blockbuster movie about a deadly shark that terrorised the fictional New England island of Amity Island. It was a great title, and arguably the perfect way to capture the scary essence of the movie.

However, the French movie title, while not quite as catchy, was nevertheless also very appropriate because in France Jaws was known as 'The Teeth Of The Sea'.

Jaws > The Teeth Of The Sea

Lost In Translation: Chinese movie titles (part 2)

A subject I've featured before on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog is the fact that when English movies are translated into Chinese, their original titles sometimes become lost in translation.

"Who you gonna call?"
"Super Power Dare Die Team!"

Here's another batch of movies with unusual Chinese titles...

1) Ghostbusters

When Ghostbusters was released in China, it was renamed rather unusually as, 'Super Power Dare Die Team'.

Imagine if Ghostbusters had been called 'Super Power Dare Die Team' in English. The theme tune just wouldn't have quite the same ring to it!

"Who you gonna call?"
"Super Power Dare Die Team!"

Ghostbusters > Super Power Dare Die Team