Job Discussion Forums

Lewis Collins' tortoise · Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:48 am Post subject: The Chicken Translation Game

Many of you who have lived here long enough to learn some Turkish will have undoubtedly come across some examples of "Chicken Translation"
That is, examples of English that are wrongly translated from Turkish and sound odd or funny.

The seminal example being itself:

"Chicken Translation" a bad translation of 'Tavuk �evirme'
Which would undoubtedly sound better as "Rotisserie Chicken" or Spit Roasted Chicken".

So the idea is we post examples of this real, or imagined, and you have to provide a more suitable translation.
This translation doesn't have to be restricted to food. Anything goes.

Here's 5 to start us off.

a) I need some more underwear juice
b) How much is the stuffed ?
c) Did you make these observations yourself?
d)He has a problem with his 12 fingers of God
e)I refuse to go in this toilet.

You get the idea...

any answers or suggestions of your own...

Lewis Collins' tortoise · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:39 am Post subject:

I guess your Turkish isn't very good then...

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:59 pm Post subject:

errrr no...but busy. Have to work for a living and all.

1. �amaşır suyu???? İ� �amaşır suyu? Mmmmmmm?
2. Dolmuş
3. g�zleme
4.12 fingers of god?
5. ummmm klozet? Dunno.

Lewis Collins' tortoise · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:07 am Post subject:

yaramaz · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:41 am Post subject:

Teacher? No, I'm in management. Those 12 hour days make my brain shut down.

Lewis Collins' tortoise · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:54 am Post subject:

yaramaz · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:57 pm Post subject:

Business lunch? Golf? In Istanbul? I wish!

trapezius · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 10:41 am Post subject:

Lewis Collins' tortoise · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:01 am Post subject:

Yes I agree with you, although here the term used is a noun form "�evirme" and hence the "translation". Very Happy

They might equally well have used Chicken Enclosure or Chicken Interpretation.

I suspect this was literally translated from a dictionary, by someone who had very little knowledge of English.

I often as a non-native speaker of Turkish make similar mistakes.
That is why it's important when writing something you should get someone who knows the language well to proof your writing for unusual uses or errors in both vocabulary and grammar.

I sometimes enjoy using Turkish malaprops though just for devilment.

as in; I refuse to go in this toilet... Laughing

any more examples?

Mike_2007 · Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 349 Location: Bucharest, Romania

I remember reading about some poor restaurant owner who was looking to translate 'manti' for his English menu. He couldn't find it in the dictionary but he did find 'mantik', which means 'logic'. Using his own particular brand of logic he then proceeded to translate 'manti' as 'logi'. Smile

Lewis Collins' tortoise · Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:28 am Post subject:

Sounds mantickly!

How about this from a student of a friend of mine (not exactly chicken translation more reptilian)

"There are lots of lacostes in the Amazon"

Watch out for those slazengers as well! Very Happy