Seoul's city government is asking people for help to correct poorly translated street signs - with prizes on offer for those who spot the most errors.
首尔市政府请大家帮忙改正翻译不当的街道标志牌,并为那些指出最多错误的人颁发奖金。
It's running a two-week campaign calling on Koreans and foreigners alike to keep their eyes peeled for mistakes in English, Japanese and Chinese text, the Korea Times reports. There's a particular focus on public transport signs, maps and information signs at historic sites, as part of a drive to improve the experience of foreign tourists in the South Korean capital. Anyone spotting a confusing or incorrect translation is being asked to snap a photo and report the details via email.
据《韩国时报》报道,这次活动号召韩国人和外国人共同关注英语、日语以及中文文本上的错误内容,为期两周。此次活动着重关注位于历史名胜处的公共交通标志、地图以及信息牌,同时,为了改善外国游客在韩国首都的旅游体验,该活动也从一定程度上成为改进的驱动力。无论什么人发现令人困惑或错误的翻译,都被要求拍下照片并通过邮件汇报错误细节。
As an added incentive, the government is stumping up 1.6m won ($1,430; £1,100) in gift vouchers, with the top error-spotter getting an "award of excellence" and a 200,000 won voucher ($180; £140).
为了进一步激励大家,政府会提供价值1430美元的礼券作为活动奖金,其中发现最多错误的人会获得“优秀奖”以及价值180美元的礼券。
At the central library of a first-rate university in Korea, one can find an awkward stipulation at the entrance: “You can possess writing tackles, books, laptop and the bag which one side size maximum 22cm.” The sign probably means: “You can bring into the library writing utensils, books, laptops and bags which do not exceed 22 centimeters in size.”
在韩国一所一流大学的中央图书馆的入口处,大家会发现一项令人尴尬的规定:“你可以持有一边尺寸不超过22厘米的书写用具、书籍、笔记本电脑和背包。”这块指示牌可能是想表达这样的意思,“你可以把尺寸不超过22厘米的文具、书籍、笔记本电脑和书包带进图书馆。”
English translations on the menu of Korean restaurants are much worse. The popular Korean dish, “seafood and green onion pancake (haemool pajeon)” is not safe from Konglish either: one menu calls the pancake a “marine products green onion pancake.” Another dish called “cocktail of pan-fried food (modeum pajeon)” should simply be translated to, “assorted seafood and green onion pancake.”
韩餐厅菜单上的英语翻译错的更离谱。在韩国备受欢迎的菜肴“海鲜葱煎饼”也没有逃脱韩式英语的迫害,有一份菜单称其为“海产洋葱煎饼”。还有一道被称为“锅贴冷盘”的菜肴,其实应该翻译为“什锦海鲜葱煎饼”。
Perhaps one of the funniest translations is “mountain not yet the pebble pot boiled rice with assorted mixtures (sanchae dolsot bibimbab),” which should be “assorted mountain vegetables and rice mixed in a hot pot.”
最搞笑的翻译之一可能就是这个“山还没有-卵石锅-用杂菜煮米(什么鬼?)”,这道菜应译为“山菜石锅拌饭”。
There are funny Konglish translations of items other than food, too. For example, when someone vomits, Koreans say, “He is overeating,” confusing vomiting with overeating. During sports games, Koreans cheer their team on by shouting, “Fighting!” when native speakers of English would holler, “Go team, go!”
除了食品,其他物品的韩式英语翻译也很搞笑。例如,当某个人呕吐的时候,韩国人会说,“他吃多了”,他们把呕吐和暴饮暴食混淆了。在体育比赛中,韩国人为队伍加油的时候会喊,“Fighting!(去战斗吧!)”,而英国本地人会喊,“Go team, go!(大家加油!)”
While Seoul is trying to adopt more visitor-friendly signage, its own tourism campaigns have run into language troubles in the past. Last year, "I.Seoul.U" was chosen as a slogan to promote the city internationally, and was promptly mocked for making little sense in English.
虽然首尔在试着采用更适合游客的标志牌,但是其先前的旅游宣传活动却遇到了语言问题。去年,“I.Seoul.U(我·首尔·你)”被选为推动城市国际化的标语,然而,立马有人嘲笑这个标语在英语里是毫无道理可言的。
The slogan will replace "Hi Seoul". Even before the vote, many people raised concerns that "I.Seoul.U" doesn't make much sense in English, with some calling it "Konglish" - the Korean practice of adopting English words in a way that English speakers often cannot understand. "
这个标语将替代“你好,首尔”。实际上,在投票之前,许多人就担心“我·首尔·你”在英语里毫无道理可言,一些人称其为“韩式英语”,也就是韩国人使用的英语,但从某种程度上,讲英语的人常常理解不了。