Worst Translation Mishaps

When it comes to translation, it is so important that the message being expressed in one language is successfully conveyed in the other. Many people share the opinion that translation is an easy task for bilingual’s, however this is not the case at all. Translation requires a high-level of skill and expertise in order to translate correctly.

Unfortunately, there has been many a translation mishap in the past. These mistakes have not gone un-noticed and at times caused huge implications, which shows how important it is for a translation to be completed with extreme accuracy.

We’ve had a look in to a few of the worst translation mishaps in history, and what we can do to avoid these mistakes from happening again in our future.

Magical Pepsi

In the 1960s, Pepsi’s slogan, “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation” gained a negative response from the people of China, due to the poor translation of their slogan from English to Chinese.

Once translated, the slogan translated to “Pepsi brings your relatives back from the dead”, which is quite the promise to make!

The Rabbit King

Napoleons brother; Ludovic Napoleon, was crowned the King of Holland in by his brother in 1806. In order to please his people and to gain popularity, he changed his name from Ludovic to Lodewijk, and declared himself Dutch instead of French.

Unfortunately, his language skills were not up to scratch and he ended up declaring himself the “Rabbit of ‘Olland” (Konijn van ‘Olland), instead of “King of Holland” (Koning van Holland). Oops!

Lazy Banking

In 2009, HSBC bank’s slogan “Assume Nothing” was mistranslated in various countries as “Do Nothing”, which did not exactly fill their customers with confidence that their money was being looked after.

The bank spent up to $10 million on a rebrand in order to fix the mistake, changing their slogan to “The World’s Private Bank”, leaving no room for any further translation mistakes.

Hiroshima

This is one of the most infamous cases of poor translation. Unfortunately, this mistake resulted in awful consequences to our world’s history.

Nearing the end of WWII, the then-called Allies sent a number of terms about Japan’s surrender. When the press asked Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuk about these terms, he responded with one word, “Mokusatsu”.

“Mokusatsu” has two meanings; “no comment” or “a treat with silent contempt”. While most Japanese translators chose the first option of translation, the international news agencies did not take this approach. This was received as a threat to the country’s surrender, so it is thought to have influenced the U.S. decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

How do we avoid mistakes like this happening in future?

Here at Matinée, we’ve been working in the translation industry for over 35 years, and work only with experienced in-country translation professionals. Whether you need an English set of subtitles translated into a range of other languages, or a voiceover script adapted for a global audience, we can help.

Our talented linguists work hard to maintain the integrity of your message, whilst also respecting the local culture and values so you can be confident that you’ll be engaging with your target audience in a respectable, authentic way.

With your choice of over 80 languages available including French, Italian, Spanish and German, why not get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you with your translation needs?

Call us on +44 (0) 118 958 4934

Or email project@matinee.co.uk