Chinese flashlight and the descriptions in ENGLISH

[Quest4fire]

Anyone who tries gets some respect.

Really? This thread's existence seems to contradict that idea. Besides, google translate or a similar app doesn't really count as "trying" IMO.

Americans seem to be in the minority of those who can't speak more than one language. That is not the case in most of the world, where others speak at least their home language and some English.

That is because the USA was founded by English speaking people. Most counties have multiple languages/dialects. So it becomes a matter of necessity to speak other languages not really choice, unless you don't want to understand what your immediate neighbors are saying. India alone has over a thousand languages. If Chinese were the international language of commerce we would speak Chinese.

We have some catching up to do.

I really don't get how Americans have to "catch up" with the rest of the world because we, of necessity, don't have to speak another language.

 

[Slazmo]

I thought Polycarbonate was the new millenniums metal for flash lights? lol

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I ran across another gem today.

This is a manual that came with a 2.4ghz audio/video transmitter/receiver pair. The best line in the manual, reproduced here exactly as shown on the page -

Receiver receive get a cartain signal of channel, through manualto select frequently with launch channel move ahead simultaneously.and then enlarged by intermediate frequency, the ancient bronze mirror is separated form audio and video signal mediated , for the terminal station to show the picture and sound.

I can understand how they came up with most of the stuff, but... ancient bronze mirror? :thinking:

 

[guiri]

Yeah, love the bronze mirror part. Maybe they're trying to light something on fire remotely? You know, like the ancient greeks, hehehe. Awesome!

 

[guiri]

Anyone who tries gets some respect. Americans seem to be in the minority of those who can't speak more than one language. That is not the case in most of the world, where others speak at least their home language and some English.

We have some catching up to do.

Well, there is one big reason yall don't in the US and that's 'cause you don't need to. Country is so big, you can stay within the US and never need to go anywhere to see a desert or icebergs.
In Europe we need to travel far to go on vacation and on other continents, they have lots of local languages.
Still, I think languages are fascinating.

 

[Cataract]

Ancient bronze mirror??? Did they salvage parts from ancient Greece?

Chinese is a very different language. For instance (this is what I read, at least) they couldn't translate directly "Aladdin and the flying carpet" for lack of a word for carpet, so it became "Aladdin and the flying floor ornament"

 

[moozooh]

I like how some of the posts here come from supposed native English speakers, yet they still contain improper English! Some catching up to do indeed.

 

[argleargle]

My favorite so far was an instruction sheet with a badly drawn cartoon picture of a crying child with a circle and a line through it. "Do not aim at the creature," it said.

I don't even remember what this came with, but I keep it in a box of strange things.

 

[TedTheLed]

Haha good one..

..a little ot but let's say the package has (had) a flashlight in it:

"....Hello,

I'm sorry to hear that your packages is delivered in the along side of road in. I understand how disappointing you must be.That's definitely not what we want our customers to experience. I'll definitely help you with this

It's always important for us to hear how customers react to all aspects of shopping at Amazon.com. Strong customer feedback like yours helps us continue to improve the selection and service we provide.

I've forwarded your feedback about ONTRAC to our shipping department--I know they'll want to hear about your experience.

We're aware that our choice of delivery services reflects on our business as a whole, and we appreciate your feedback.

I've forward this to appropriate department . To make sure this will never happen again......."

..and just HOW do THEY know how disappointing I am??

...how do you respond to this? Do you respect the person for trying, or respectfully correct them? or what?

 

[guiri]

I once read in Reader's Digest a quote from a rejection letter from a publisher in China I think it was. The thing was awesome. I dont' remember what it said now but it was so nice and poetic, that I prolly wouldn't mind getting rejected.

Also, I bought something off of ebay and the seller in China sent me a note saying something about mr Stork being on his way with my package.
I thought that was awesome.

 

[Stream]

That is because the USA was founded by English speaking people. Most counties have multiple languages/dialects. So it becomes a matter of necessity to speak other languages not really choice, unless you don't want to understand what your immediate neighbors are saying. India alone has over a thousand languages.

I really don't get how Americans have to "catch up" with the rest of the world because we, of necessity, don't have to speak another language.

lol Could you sound anymore like the Griswolds on vacation? It's worth noting that the US also has multiple languages/dialects. To begin with, you have Native American languages and dialects as well as regional varieties/dialects of English. French is spoken as a native language in the state of Maine, and in Louisiana. Spanish is spoken as the mother tongue of a huge minority spread out across the US. As for understanding your immediate neighbors, Mexico is primarily Spanish-speaking. In summary: I'd say there's every reason to catch up

If Chinese were the international language of commerce we would speak Chinese.

At the rate of development today, I'd say that's only a matter of time

PS: Did you know that you were one vote away from speaking German today? After the war of independence, the continental congress assembled in Philadelphia to vote on a language for the new republic. English won over German by only one vote!

 

[guiri]

So Stream, how do you know all this and are you Swedish?

George

 

[StarHalo]

If you truncate that statement;

I really don't get how Americans have to "catch up" with the rest of the world because we, of necessity, don't have to

There's your problem.

And some rudimentary Español is a good idea if you want some actual Mexican food, many local Mexican grocery stores usually only have one manager somewhere who speaks some English..

 

[TEEJ]

Some cultures are more centrist than others. Some people are more centrist than others as well. When you combine these factors, you will have varying levels of expectations that others take THEIR needs into account as a priority....and tolerance for others "failure" to take their needs into account as a priority.

If I go to France, the French, generally, are offended if I expect THEM to speak English, albeit fairly tolerant of my poor attempts at speaking French. My poor attempts show a level of respect, in that I was taking THEIR needs into account, etc. That generally encourages them to attempt some English for my sake, etc.

I confess to being quite amused by poor translations, as well as misuses by native speakers. I can't help it, especially when the WAY they tried to explain themselves/a concept is poetic or clever, or expresses the meaning in a way that is true but typically not described, etc.

When I see an ad for a light that says: "Crust - Aerospace Grade Aluminum", I have to smile, as I have a mental image of some guy entering "Hard Outer Covering" into his translator....

When I see an ad that is trying to sell to a military/LEO demographic, and describing the lights as "Fancy and Exquisite", I imagine that THEY see those terms as a positive reason to buy the light...and do not see those terms as a turn-off for the target demographic...because the translator will not likely take shades of meaning and context into account.

For directions/Instructions, well, sometimes you can decipher what they meant...and, sometimes, you'd need ESP. That's an area where, unfortunately, ANYONE selling to a non-native market needs to, IMHO, bite the bullet and get a manual native translation. There are tort liability issues that arise when the directions seem to say to plug A into C, but doing it makes it blow-up, etc. The cost of a real translation is cheap compared to the cost of a real lawsuit.

So, while I believe the sellers would be better served by a COMBINATION of improved adaptations to their target markets, I DO enjoy reading the fruits of their adaptations thus far.

 

[Empath]

PS: Did you know that you were one vote away from speaking German today? After the war of independence, the continental congress assembled in Philadelphia to vote on a language for the new republic. English won over German by only one vote!

This isn't true. The U.S. doesn't have, nor has it ever had an official language. The "vote" you reference was in regard to an effort to have some governmental printings done in more languages than English.

There are many links you can Google, with some interesting information, but you can find it also at Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp .

 

[Stream]

The "vote" you reference was in regard to an effort to have some governmental printings done in more languages than English.

There are many links you can Google, with some interesting information, but you can find it also at Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp .

Good catch. I just remembered reading that somewhere, and thought I'd throw it in as an interesting trivia "fact". The point I was making, however, is simply that most countries have more than one spoken dialect or language, whether official, semi- or unofficial, and the US is not an exception (as Quest4fire seemed to believe). And with such a huge Spanish speaking minority, and Mexico as an immediate neighbor, there's every reason for Americans to learn at least one second language. Of course they don't have to, but you can't say it wouldn't be useful--even within US borders.

 

[hangn_9]

Todays headline on my Deal Extreme newsletter

[h=1]Survive Any Fatal Disaster![/h]

 

[Empath]

Survive Any Fatal Disaster!

:shakehead
Everyone tries to get into the zombie fad.

 

[Stream]

So Stream, how do you know all this and are you Swedish?

I'm actually Norwegian, currently living in Sweden. I lived in the US for many years, though.

For directions/Instructions, well, sometimes you can decipher what they meant...and, sometimes, you'd need ESP. That's an area where, unfortunately, ANYONE selling to a non-native market needs to, IMHO, bite the bullet and get a manual native translation. There are tort liability issues that arise when the directions seem to say to plug A into C, but doing it makes it blow-up, etc. The cost of a real translation is cheap compared to the cost of a real lawsuit.

I agree. In my line of work I sometimes have to do translation work, but I never dabble with languages I don't have a good working knowledge of. In those instances, I outsource the work to someone who is qualified. It's not even that terribly expensive these days, so I can't really understand why they don't get a native manual translator. Simply running a phrase or text through an automated translator will not produce sensible results.

One thing is the dirt cheap products that may not have been given much effort in terms of planning, but even pricier products from China such as Fenix lights have the odd phrases and sentences that must have lost a lot in translation. Although their instructions are usually decipherable enough to not cause any serious liability concerns, their packaging has featured many broken and oddly poetic sentences such as "Fenix dedicates to producing classic illuminating tools … They can serve as your reliable pal in life, as well as your best choice for collection purpose or gift"

I mean wow, that part in bold nearly brought a tear to my eye lol

 

[guiri]

As someone who speaks several languages and LIKES languages, it irritates me that they can't get someone to fix their EngRIsh. HOWEVER, I love reading it as it
makes my day

Hell, they're like little innocent children trying hard but only getting it right sometime...

Stream, I love Norway. It's pretty and people are cool. I've been there many times and I lived in Sweden and now here