New on the Menu: Pungent Shrimp!

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Jonathan Hall

Pungent Shellfish: Cuba's new specialty. — Pungent Shellfish: Cuba’s new specialty.

This was the menu for our “fancy” dinner on our honeymoon in Havana, Cuba in April. I rarely point out translation errors to restaurant staff, but this one was serious enough I decided to point it out. But they didn’t seem to care. Perhaps they didn’t grasp the meaning their bad translation was conveying.

Would you repost a meme fail?

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Jonathan Hall

Is the sentiment lost if the sentence doesn't make any sense? — Is the sentiment lost if the sentence doesn’t make any sense?

Would you repost a meme with an error like this one? Why or why not? Comment below.

Visitors banished from Cathedral of Notre Dame

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by Jonathan Hall

A sign found at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. I guess they've had enough with those pesky visitors! — A sign found at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. I guess they’ve had enough with those pesky visitors!

Climb You!

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Jonathan Hall

Sube Usted / Climb You — This sign, found in the church atop the Pyramid of Cholula near Puebla, Mexico, was meant to indicate that visitors must take a few steps up to exit the room. But the subtle difference between “to climb” and “to go up” were clearly lost on this translator, not to mention word order!