Off topic: When I thought I had seen'em all... Thread poster: José Henrique Lamensdorf
|
|---|
I was tired of always seeing the same translation bloopers quoted on every one out of three translation agencies' web sites. Today I found a new one, that has been there for years, unnoticed.
I was arranging some pix in a folder, using Windows XP Pro in PT-BR. I had Windows Explorer in Thumbnails display mode. Now that this version of Windows is just about to have tech support swept from under it by Microsoft, I found it!
 ... See more I was tired of always seeing the same translation bloopers quoted on every one out of three translation agencies' web sites. Today I found a new one, that has been there for years, unnoticed.
I was arranging some pix in a folder, using Windows XP Pro in PT-BR. I had Windows Explorer in Thumbnails display mode. Now that this version of Windows is just about to have tech support swept from under it by Microsoft, I found it!
"Girar no sentido horário" = "Rotate clockwise" - OK.
However the second option, as stated in Portuguese there, means:
"Rotate the counter/accountant (it's the same word in PT) clockwise!"
I was puzzled at first but yes, it does rotate a picture counter-clockwise! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lincoln Hui 
Hong Kong
Local time: 03:50
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
| Microsoft Windows localization | Jan 15, 2014 |
...may be fully summed-up in two words: unmitigated disaster, at least with regards to Chinese.
In the Traditional Chinese version of Windows XP, "Daylight Saving Time is not observed by this Time Zone" uses the "to see/to watch/to witness" meaning, rather than the "to follow" meaning. So rather than "This Time Zone does not follow Daylight Saving Time", the translation reads "This Time Zone does not view Daylight Saving Time" or "It is not this Time Zone that watches Daylight Savin... See more ...may be fully summed-up in two words: unmitigated disaster, at least with regards to Chinese.
In the Traditional Chinese version of Windows XP, "Daylight Saving Time is not observed by this Time Zone" uses the "to see/to watch/to witness" meaning, rather than the "to follow" meaning. So rather than "This Time Zone does not follow Daylight Saving Time", the translation reads "This Time Zone does not view Daylight Saving Time" or "It is not this Time Zone that watches Daylight Saving Time". The quality of translation in Windows XP generally left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wasn't even in university at that time.
It didn't use to be this bad. I remember Windows 95 and 98 being pretty ok, although I was a wee lad at the time and my memory can be shaky. I'm certain that the language used was smoother and more natural. Maybe there were inaccuracies that I didn't realize at the time, but it was absolutely better writing than the total manure in XP.
Now, I've not used Windows in Chinese for at least 6-7 years, so maybe things have changed for the better. I'm not optimistic.
[Edited at 2014-01-15 03:33 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | |
¡Qué dolor!
| | | | Giles Watson
Italy
Local time: 21:50
Italian to English
In memoriam | Useful function | Jan 15, 2014 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
However the second option, as stated in Portuguese there, means:
"Rotate the counter/accountant (it's the same word in PT) clockwise!"
Can you batch-select? There are one or two accountants I'd like to rotate clockwise 
| | |
|
|
|
KKastenhuber
Austria
Local time: 21:50
Russian to German
+ ...
This really made me laugh.
| | | | | Doesn't Microsoft... | Mar 21, 2014 |
...outsource all its translations to Lionbridge? Just sayin'.
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » When I thought I had seen'em all... | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
