In that year, the Pope Damasus I commissioned St. Jerome to translate the Old and New Testaments into Latin from the original Greek and Hebrew texts. In fact, thousands of memorable translation mistakes have been recorded. Let’s take a look at a few mistranslations that have had far-reaching consequences and see what lessons these famous blunders have to offer language learners trying not to get lost in translation. In many languages in Europe and across the world, there was no equivalent phrase and Assume Nothing was widely mistranslated as Do Nothing. Unfortunately, translation is much more complicated than that. Final Fantasy IV is no exception. Translation tip: Jimmy Carter’s Polish kerfuffle is a good reminder that even when languages have related roots, it’s best not to assume you can wing it. Confusion over the French word ‘demander’, meaning ‘to ask’, inflamed talks between Paris and Washington in 1830. It's an urban myth. After another line, he was again followed by silence. Delivered in Khrushchev’s blustering style, it went down in history as a misunderstanding that escalated the Cold War. The Black Death. He was praised for his sage words, seen as reflecting Chinese philosophy; yet he was actually referring to the May 1968 events in France. Google Translate Loves Canada. HSBC bank had a famous slogan, Assume Nothing, that communicated their strategy about investment and worked well for English customers. Google's free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages. Too often, amateurs are used to translate or interpret something and when the communication is important, it can be a serious mistake. Veel vertaalde voorbeeldzinnen bevatten "mistakes in translation" – Engels-Nederlands woordenboek en zoekmachine voor een miljard Engelse vertalingen. Or that’s what his interpreter said, anyway. According to Nasa, “The network of crisscrossing lines covering the surface of Mars was only a product of the human tendency to see patterns, even when patterns do not exist. According to retired US diplomat Charles W Freeman Jr – Nixon’s interpreter during the historic trip – the misconstrued comment was “one of those convenient misunderstandings that never gets corrected.” Freeman said: “I cannot explain the confusion about Zhou’s comment except in terms of the extent to which it conveniently bolstered a stereotype (as usual with all stereotypes, partly perceptive) about Chinese statesmen as far-sighted individuals who think in longer terms than their Western counterparts. Using the same idioms as in the source language 5. The Bible has inspired wars, conquest and crusades, as well as acts of charity and courage. These... 3. Please follow and like us: By: Elias David Jacob. Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev gave a rousing speech in 1956 about the merits of communism that unintentionally turned the temperature on the Cold War frigid. Unfortunately, his peers translated that as ‘canals’, launching a theory that they had been created by intelligent lifeforms on Mars. Your own working class will bury you. Mistranslations during negotiations have often proven contentious. In a speech given during the US President’s 1977 visit to Poland, he appeared to express sexual desire for the then-Communist country. Using the same punctuation as in the original text 3. Zhou Enlai, 1950 (Hulton Archive/ Getty Images). ​A U.S. military sign at the Berlin Wall during the Cold War​, in English, Russian, French, and German. In a fit of rage after blaming Edward for the death of his daughter, he attacks … These mistakes are due to the fact that the translator sticks to the format of the original text and makes some (in)voluntary punctuational, structural, or grammatical errors. Unfortunately, its prime minister responded by using the word “mokusatsu”. We will dig you in”. Unfortunately, his words were interpreted in…