Normally translations we see on TV are prepared beforehand and a script is used to read out the translations.
A video of a woman trying to translate what a man said in Mandarin was so funny that it went viral.
Lost in Translation
The first one: “China has an old saying”, it got translated to “Old say”
The second one “When a friend visits from afar, it brings joy”, it got translated to “far friend, No happy”
The third one is a Chinese idiom that means “hosting a banquet to entertain guests from afar to show condolences and welcome”, however it got translated to “go to KTV and wash feet.
The fourth one “My style is often simple/plain”, it got translated to “we are poor”
The last one… “thousand years of cultivation can lead to mutual grounds”, it got translated to “sleep together”.
Full video loading…
Here are what netizens think:
- Likely due to poor planning beforehand. usually, the translator will require a copy of what they will be talking about, prepare the translation AT HOME already, then go. You see those done on tv, Do you think they really can translate so fast meh? All already prepared long long liao.
- totally agree on the poor planning. The poor girl looked so ‘oh dang…’