Off topic: When I thought I had seen'em all...
Автор темы: José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Бразилия
Local time: 02:29
английский => португальский
+ ...
Памяти
Jan 15, 2014

I was tired of always seeing the same translation bloopers quoted on every one out of three translation agencies' web sites. Today I found a new one, that has been there for years, unnoticed.

I was arranging some pix in a folder, using Windows XP Pro in PT-BR. I had Windows Explorer in Thumbnails display mode. Now that this version of Windows is just about to have tech support swept from under it by Microsoft, I found it!

...
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I was tired of always seeing the same translation bloopers quoted on every one out of three translation agencies' web sites. Today I found a new one, that has been there for years, unnoticed.

I was arranging some pix in a folder, using Windows XP Pro in PT-BR. I had Windows Explorer in Thumbnails display mode. Now that this version of Windows is just about to have tech support swept from under it by Microsoft, I found it!



"Girar no sentido horário" = "Rotate clockwise" - OK.

However the second option, as stated in Portuguese there, means:
"Rotate the counter/accountant (it's the same word in PT) clockwise!"

I was puzzled at first but yes, it does rotate a picture counter-clockwise!
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Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Гонконг
Local time: 13:29
Член ProZ.com
китайский => английский
+ ...
Microsoft Windows localization Jan 15, 2014

...may be fully summed-up in two words: unmitigated disaster, at least with regards to Chinese.

In the Traditional Chinese version of Windows XP, "Daylight Saving Time is not observed by this Time Zone" uses the "to see/to watch/to witness" meaning, rather than the "to follow" meaning. So rather than "This Time Zone does not follow Daylight Saving Time", the translation reads "This Time Zone does not view Daylight Saving Time" or "It is not this Time Zone that watches Daylight Savin
... See more
...may be fully summed-up in two words: unmitigated disaster, at least with regards to Chinese.

In the Traditional Chinese version of Windows XP, "Daylight Saving Time is not observed by this Time Zone" uses the "to see/to watch/to witness" meaning, rather than the "to follow" meaning. So rather than "This Time Zone does not follow Daylight Saving Time", the translation reads "This Time Zone does not view Daylight Saving Time" or "It is not this Time Zone that watches Daylight Saving Time". The quality of translation in Windows XP generally left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wasn't even in university at that time.

It didn't use to be this bad. I remember Windows 95 and 98 being pretty ok, although I was a wee lad at the time and my memory can be shaky. I'm certain that the language used was smoother and more natural. Maybe there were inaccuracies that I didn't realize at the time, but it was absolutely better writing than the total manure in XP.

Now, I've not used Windows in Chinese for at least 6-7 years, so maybe things have changed for the better. I'm not optimistic.

[Edited at 2014-01-15 03:33 GMT]
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Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Испания
Local time: 06:29
Член ProZ.com c 2005
английский => испанский
+ ...
Uffff Jan 15, 2014

¡Qué dolor!

 
Giles Watson
Giles Watson  Identity Verified
Италия
Local time: 06:29
итальянский => английский
Памяти
Useful function Jan 15, 2014

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

However the second option, as stated in Portuguese there, means:
"Rotate the counter/accountant (it's the same word in PT) clockwise!"



Can you batch-select? There are one or two accountants I'd like to rotate clockwise


 
KKastenhuber
KKastenhuber  Identity Verified
Австрия
Local time: 06:29
русский => немецкий
+ ...
Thank you Jan 15, 2014

This really made me laugh.

 
Michael Marcoux
Michael Marcoux  Identity Verified
США
Local time: 00:29
русский => английский
+ ...
Doesn't Microsoft... Mar 21, 2014

...outsource all its translations to Lionbridge? Just sayin'.

 


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When I thought I had seen'em all...






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