[OT] Bad translations in manuals

C

Chaos Master

Guest
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:

"To tune, turn the digits on the front" - From one of those el cheapo radios.

"Power adapter driver software CD" - From the manual of my AOC scanner, that had
almost no line breaks at all. It was understood to be, in a listing:

"1. Power adapter
2. Driver software CD"

"256kb of 512kb of cache memory." - From my PC manual.

And my favorite, from a Brazilian site on repair, that has a translation in
English:

"<device> makes popcorn when turned on" - They translated "popping sound" to
"POPCORN"!!!


--
 
Chaos Master wrote:
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:

"To tune, turn the digits on the front" - From one of those el cheapo radios.

"Power adapter driver software CD" - From the manual of my AOC scanner, that had
almost no line breaks at all. It was understood to be, in a listing:

"1. Power adapter
2. Driver software CD"

"256kb of 512kb of cache memory." - From my PC manual.

And my favorite, from a Brazilian site on repair, that has a translation in
English:

"<device> makes popcorn when turned on" - They translated "popping sound" to
"POPCORN"!!!
Click to expand...
One of my favourites was "semi-double" in a modem manual translated from
Japanese. They mean half-duplex.
 
Do a google search for "all your base are belong
to us". One of the most famous bad translations.

Or check out this website...
http://www.engrish.com/faq.php

Steve

"Chaos Master" <please.ask@ibestvip.com.br> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a471f377573ce4798984f@news.cis.dfn.de...
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics
equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:

"To tune, turn the digits on the front" - From one of those el cheapo
radios.

"Power adapter driver software CD" - From the manual of my AOC scanner,
that had
almost no line breaks at all. It was understood to be, in a listing:

"1. Power adapter
2. Driver software CD"

"256kb of 512kb of cache memory." - From my PC manual.

And my favorite, from a Brazilian site on repair, that has a translation
in
English:

"<device> makes popcorn when turned on" - They translated "popping sound"
to
"POPCORN"!!!


--
Click to expand...
 
red rover(NOnatpressSPAM@sympatico.ca) spoke, er, wrote:
Do a google search for "all your base are belong
to us". One of the most famous bad translations.

Or check out this website...
http://www.engrish.com/faq.php
Click to expand...
Other ones I remembered:

"Press ON to turn on you." -> From an el cheapo calculator.

"Click 'enter' to continue" -> from my Rockwell modem driver CD

--
 
On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 01:32:05 -0200, Chaos Master
<please.ask@ibestvip.com.br> put finger to keyboard and composed:

Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:

"To tune, turn the digits on the front" - From one of those el cheapo radios.

"Power adapter driver software CD" - From the manual of my AOC scanner, that had
almost no line breaks at all. It was understood to be, in a listing:

"1. Power adapter
2. Driver software CD"

"256kb of 512kb of cache memory." - From my PC manual.

And my favorite, from a Brazilian site on repair, that has a translation in
English:

"<device> makes popcorn when turned on" - They translated "popping sound" to
"POPCORN"!!!
Click to expand...
"Trouble should be shot in this manner" - from a service manual for
Japanese lab equipment.


- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.
 
In message <MPG.1a471f377573ce4798984f@news.cis.dfn.de>, Chaos Master
<please.ask@ibestvip.com.br> writes
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:
Click to expand...
<Snip>

'An owl in a sack troubles no man'.

Not a translation, but a sentence I slipped into a manual I wrote.
No-one noticed, certainly not the poof reader.

It also had a single page, blank but for the words "This page
intentionally left blank" in the middle. I'd always wanted to do that -
it used to be quite common for reasons I've never fully understood. That
one was pulled.


I had an East German motorbike once. In the manual, the dipstick was
translated as something like "the metal rod for ascertaining oil level"
- possibly a direct literal translation of one of those long German
words.

Cheers
--
Keith Wootten
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Chaos Master
<please.ask@ibestvip.com.br> wrote (in <MPG.1a471f377573ce4798984f@news.
cis.dfn.de>) about '[OT] Bad translations in manuals', on Mon, 15 Dec
2003:
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics
equipment manuals?
Click to expand...
Where have you BEEN for the past 20 years? Misprints and
mistranslations, and total gobbledegook, are legion in manuals from the
Far East, and even closer to home.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only. http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk
Interested in professional sound reinforcement and distribution? Then go to
http://www.isce.org.uk
PLEASE do NOT copy news posts to me by E-MAIL!
 
Keith Wootten wrote:
||
|| I had an East German motorbike once. In the manual, the dipstick was
|| translated as something like "the metal rod for ascertaining oil
|| level"
|| - possibly a direct literal translation of one of those long German
|| words.
||

Metallstab zur Ölstandskontrolle
was it a MZ or what?
--
ciao Ban
Bordighera, Italy
 
I read in sci.electronics.design that Keith Wootten
<keith.w@ntlworld.Xcom> wrote (in <Th8+UPC4SX3$EwNJ@ntlworld.com>) about
'[OT] Bad translations in manuals', on Mon, 15 Dec 2003:
I had an East German motorbike once. In the manual, the dipstick was
translated as something like "the metal rod for ascertaining oil level"
- possibly a direct literal translation of one of those long German
words.
Click to expand...
I thought the German for 'dipstick' was 'dummkopf'.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only. http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk
Interested in professional sound reinforcement and distribution? Then go to
http://www.isce.org.uk
PLEASE do NOT copy news posts to me by E-MAIL!
 
Chaos Master <please.ask@ibestvip.com.br> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a471f377573ce4798984f@news.cis.dfn.de...
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics
equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:

"To tune, turn the digits on the front" - From one of those el cheapo
radios.

"Power adapter driver software CD" - From the manual of my AOC scanner,
that had
almost no line breaks at all. It was understood to be, in a listing:

"1. Power adapter
2. Driver software CD"

"256kb of 512kb of cache memory." - From my PC manual.

And my favorite, from a Brazilian site on repair, that has a translation
in
English:

"<device> makes popcorn when turned on" - They translated "popping sound"
to
"POPCORN"!!!

I recall a preface in the manual for an amp that went something like this:
Click to expand...

"This amplifier is designed not only for the keen music listener, but also
for the hifi maniac".
 
Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@optussnet.com.au> wrote in message

Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics
equipment
Click to expand...


I came across this in a Spanish translation of a Racal handbook. It's
part of a list of suitable test equipment for an h.f. transceiver.

"Medidor de potencia. Magnetometro remolcado por avion, modelo 43".

Which, in English is "Power meter. Magnetometer towed by an aircraft,
model 43."

The original was "Power meter. Bird model 43".

Explanation. I know that a magnetomoter towed by a ship is sometimes
referred to as the "fish". It is therefore probable that one which is
towed by an aircraft is referred to as a bird.
 
I was expecting more comments on the engrish web site.
They have collections of thousands of instructions and labels
Like this one about which batties to use..

http://www.engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=Gun5.jpg&category=Instructions&d
ate=2002-10-09

Steve

"bruce varley" <bxvarley@weqstnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:3fddab7a@quokka.wn.com.au...
Chaos Master <please.ask@ibestvip.com.br> wrote in message
news:MPG.1a471f377573ce4798984f@news.cis.dfn.de...
Has anyone in this group ever found bad translations in electronics
equipment
manuals? I'm curious after I've found some:

"To tune, turn the digits on the front" - From one of those el cheapo
radios.

"Power adapter driver software CD" - From the manual of my AOC scanner,
that had
almost no line breaks at all. It was understood to be, in a listing:

"1. Power adapter
2. Driver software CD"

"256kb of 512kb of cache memory." - From my PC manual.

And my favorite, from a Brazilian site on repair, that has a translation
in
English:

"<device> makes popcorn when turned on" - They translated "popping
sound"
to
"POPCORN"!!!

I recall a preface in the manual for an amp that went something like this:

"This amplifier is designed not only for the keen music listener, but also
for the hifi maniac".
Click to expand...
 
In message <YmgDb.95513$AX1.4014373@news1.tin.it>, Ban <bansuri@web.de>
writes

Metallstab zur Ölstandskontrolle
was it a MZ or what?
Click to expand...
Indeed. An ES 250 Trophy - Earls forks (leading link) and combined
tank/headlamp unit. Possibly the ugliest bike in the world, but very
reliable and comfortable.

Cheers
--
Keith Wootten
 
"Keith Wootten" <keith.w@ntlworld.Xcom> wrote in message
news:Th8+UPC4SX3$EwNJ@ntlworld.com...
It also had a single page, blank but for the words "This page
intentionally left blank" in the middle. I'd always wanted to do that -
it used to be quite common for reasons I've never fully understood. That
one was pulled.
Click to expand...
I once had an actual milspec manual (from Rockwell, I think) with two
interesting consecutive pages deep in the middle. The first page just said
"This page inentionally left blank." The next page was just blank.
 
I 'dumped' one of those on the streets of Duesseldorf once. You're right,
they're durable. The only thing I broke was the turn signal on the side
that went down. They look like something you could plow a field with.
OTOH, the reason it went down, I believe, was play in the rear fork. It was
the first time I had ridden it, and after I got comfortable with it, I gave
it a little juice in a turn. I felt the rear wheel shift slightly and the
next thing I knew I was sliding along on the pavement. I had noticed the
rear wheel didn't seem to track well over trolley tracks and other
irregularities in the pavement.

It might have been an effect of the crash, but I don't think so. The owner
had it checked out and there was no damage. I think it was just loose
tolerances. He said he never noticed....

jak

"Keith Wootten" <keith.w@ntlworld.Xcom> wrote in message
news:pp55GaOsLc3$Ewef@ntlworld.com...
In message <YmgDb.95513$AX1.4014373@news1.tin.it>, Ban <bansuri@web.de
writes

Metallstab zur Ölstandskontrolle
was it a MZ or what?

Indeed. An ES 250 Trophy - Earls forks (leading link) and combined
tank/headlamp unit. Possibly the ugliest bike in the world, but very
reliable and comfortable.

Cheers
--
Keith Wootten
Click to expand...
 
On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 08:45:44 +0000 Keith Wootten <keith.w@ntlworld.Xcom>
wrote in Message id: <Th8+UPC4SX3$EwNJ@ntlworld.com>:

Not a translation, but a sentence I slipped into a manual I wrote.
No-one noticed, certainly not the poof reader.
^^^^
Click to expand...
D'oh!
 
I was trying to get some help with the new card reader I got for my Kodak
digital cam but their online help were obviously made by someone who wrote
it originally in Japanese or Chinese and used Babelfish online translator.

http://www.desknote.com.tw/card%20reader/ucr-61s2b-o.html

I got headaches just trying to figure out if that was the right place.

--
To reply, replace digi.mon with tds.net
 
One I liked on the packaging of a digital camera:

"Do not stand on the package, overturn may cause fall and serious injury or
death !"

--
Regards,

Adrian Jansen
J & K MicroSystems
Microcomputer solutions for industrial control
 
Keith Wootten wrote:


'An owl in a sack troubles no man'.

Not a translation, but a sentence I slipped into a manual I wrote.
No-one noticed, certainly not the poof reader.

It also had a single page, blank but for the words "This page
intentionally left blank" in the middle. I'd always wanted to do that -
it used to be quite common for reasons I've never fully understood. That
one was pulled.
Click to expand...
This happened especially a lot with the IBM manuals when they updated
them. They sent only updated pages, not the entire manual. Sometimes
they added stuff, or took stuff out, and it left blank pages. They
labeled them so that you knew that the page needed to be left in.
 
On Mon, 15 Dec 2003 06:49:38 -0800, "Richard Henry" <rphenry@home.com>
wrote:

"Keith Wootten" <keith.w@ntlworld.Xcom> wrote in message
news:Th8+UPC4SX3$EwNJ@ntlworld.com...

It also had a single page, blank but for the words "This page
intentionally left blank" in the middle. I'd always wanted to do that -
it used to be quite common for reasons I've never fully understood. That
one was pulled.

I once had an actual milspec manual (from Rockwell, I think) with two
interesting consecutive pages deep in the middle. The first page just said
"This page inentionally left blank." The next page was just blank.
Click to expand...
Maybe it was unintentionally left blank.

- YD.

--
Remove HAT if replying by mail.
 
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