Travelling through Southeast Asia, we’ve seen some pretty amusing English translations. Here are a few:
- We do not accept squeches. ( I think they meant cheques)
- We serve catholic and alcoholic drinks.
The menu items are usually the most entertaining:
- Hot boiled cube (I have no idea)
- Fried fish powder
- Fish pudding with vegetable
- Pineapple moan porn pizza (well, maybe not a translation error but funny nevertheless)
And my personal favourite:
- Grilled unimaginable pork…..mmmmmmmmmm unimaginable pork
Okay, it is a little mean to poke fun. I wouldn’t feel right about it unless I divulged one of my own translation booboos. So here goes. A few years ago, we were staying for a few days with a French couple in Provence. Though I was born in Montreal and do speak French, I have forgotten quite a bit since moving to Vancouver. Anyway, the husband makes dentures for a living. One night, his wife was telling me about his work. I asked, or at least thought I asked how long it takes him to make a set of dentures. Well, I must have mixed up my grammar because instead of replying how long it takes to make a set, our lovely and generous host (who has housed and fed us for days, who has taken us all over Provence) got a very funny look in here eye and proceeded to tell me how long she has been wearing dentures…. 
Shoot me now.
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