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Sarastro

Sarastro

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The other day I was looking for a distributor rotor that's probably discontinued, but I still hoped I might find a source. I did find one--on a Chinese web site called KakaPart.com. I got a chuckle out of that, since someone named the site without knowing how it would sound to English-speaking users.

That got me thinking about other things I've seen in other languages that have unintended meanings in English. First, a hotel:
bad_hotel.jpg


This was along Lake Constance in Germany. "Bad" is actually short for baden, meaning swimming--these are hotels on the lakeside with swimming facilities.

A cafe, this one in Switzerland:
cafe_hl.jpg

The name actually translates as something like "The Bright Cafe."

Finally, a sign marking the city limits of Nice, in southern France:
nice_sm.jpg

This sign could be a warning about a lot of people I've met.

I have one more example, but the ones I've posted push the limits of the BCF rules as far as I dare, so I'm reluctantly leaving it out.

Anyway, I decided not to get the rotor from kakapart.com. Buying a probably-discontinued part entails some risk of getting a counterfeit part, and there are alternatives, anyway. And, the site name really doesn't do them any favors.
 
Steve said:
Good spotting... and it was probably wise to avoid the Chinese distributor. I've heard some horror stories about British Car parts from that part of the world.
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Not wanting to get political or dismissive, but many of the parts we order from the usual suspects originate in that part of the world. I have more than one replacement part on Ms. Triss that has a metric bolt. Similarly I am finding more and more that tolerances are bad (took me an entire driving season to finally suss out that my replacement clutch line wasn't seating properly.

That said back to signs.

the famous Pennsylvania one

1638025513826.png
 
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Another one that would definitely break the BCF rules. Several years a friend was part owner of a Kawasaki dealership. They get a large display thing from Japan with English instructions on how to assemble it. Multiple places had the wording that intended "Screw part A onto part B" but missed the translation just a little.
 
JPSmit said:
Not wanting to get political or dismissive, but many of the parts we order from the ususal suspects originate in that part of the world. I have more than one replacement part on Ms. Triss that has a metric bolt. Similarly I am finding more and more that tolerances are bad (took me an entire driving season to finally suss out that my replacement clutch line wasn't seating properly.

That said back to signs.

the famous Pennsylvania one

View attachment 74131There is a town not far from intercourse that I would name, but it might break forum rules.
Click to expand...
 
In a much more personal example, my parents came from Holland and even though my Dutch is pretty rudimentary, my mother an I will typically converse with a bit of both languages. The word 'hore' - means hear (as in sort of 'do you hear' - shortened to add emphasis)

So I will be chatteing with my mother and say 'nee hore' (no, hear)

Mrs JP was quite perturbed for quite some time about how I was speaking to my mother. :D
 
The new Dutch wife of an acquaintance went to a shoe store here in the States shortly after her arrival, saw a pair she liked and the salesman asked her if she would like to try them on before the purchase. Here I'll set the disclaimer ahead of time: Apparently in Holland the socks are called "panties"... so when she told the salesman she would like to but had no panties, the guy went beet red and stuttering. :ROFLMAO:
 
i have seen alot of signs and instructions in various parts of the world that were amusing, but my favorite....supposedly true story....is that i read of an interview with John Steinbeck when asked about sales of his book "The Grapes of Wrath" worldwide, said that he enjoyed perusing bookstores and asking clerks (who didn't know who he was) if they had the book and if it was good. he saw the book in a bookstore in a foreign country once (France? Italy? i don't remember where he said) and when he ask the clerk what the name of the book was in English, they replied that it was called "The Raisins of Anger."
 
DrEntropy said:
The new Dutch wife of an acquaintance went to a shoe store here in the States shortly after her arrival, saw a pair she liked and the salesman asked her if she would like to try them on before the purchase. Here I'll set the disclaimer ahead of time: Apparently in Holland the socks are called "panties"... so when she told the salesman she would like to but had no panties, the guy went beet red and stuttering. :ROFLMAO:
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I've always believed that the best way to learn vocabulary in a foreign language is to make a really grand blooper. You'll NEVER forget the words after that!
 
If you get the chance, look for the Trevor Noah clip on YouTube where he talks about tacos. The word napkin comes into play. Absolutely hilarious!!
 
I buy most of my old Jag parts from the UK, shipping not much more and pretty much get the right part. A s ordering from American British part dealers their prices reflects their shipping cost, then you pay more for domestic shipping.
 
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