Someone at the United Nation once fed a common English saying into a translating computer. The machine was asked to translate the statement into Chinese, then into French, and finally back into English. The adage chosen was “Out of sight, out of mind. ” What came back was “Invisible insane.”

A similar computer was given the task of translating into Russian and then back to English the bromide “The spirit is willing, but the fresh is weak.” The result was “The wine is good but the meat is spoiled.”

What’s wrong with the translation? “Out of sight” does mean invisible and “out of mind” does mean insane. “Spirit” does mean wine and “flesh” does mean meat? Well, some sort of correct.

English has been recognized as the international lingua franca and people have begun adopting English for the benefits of visitors. Here are some examples of other languages that have been translated into English and lost the original intended meanings.

• In a Tokyo hotel : Is forbitten to steal hotel towels please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read notis.
• In another Japanese hotel room : Please to bathe inside the tub.
• In a hotel in Athens : Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11a.m. daily.
• In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across a Russian Orthodox monastery : You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday.
• On the menu of a Swiss restaurant : Our wines leave you nothing to hope for.
• In a Bangkok dry cleaner’s : Drop your trousers here for best results.
• In a Rhodes tailor shop : Order your summer suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation.
• In a Rome laundry : Ladies, leave your clothes here are spend the afternoon having a good time.
• In a Czechoslovakian tourist agency : Take one of our horse-driven city tours – we guarantee no miscarriages.
• Advertisement for donkey rides in Thailand : Would you like to ride on your own ass?
• In the window of a Swedish furrier : Fur coats made for ladies from their own skin.
• In a Swiss mountain inn : Special today – no ice cream.
• In a Norwegian cocktails lounge : Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.
• At a Budapest zoo : Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.
• In a office of a Roman doctor : Specialist in women and other diseases.
• In a Acapulco hotel : The manager has personally passed all the water served here.

Source : Anguished English (Anniversary Edition!) – An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language by Richard Lederer. Published by Wyrick & Company, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.