English Instructions in Yantai

Eric brought back an Internet Setup Guide from a hotel in Yantai, Shangdong Province. I bursted into laughter when I read the English section of this guide. Try to read it without referencing Chinese version of this guide in the next picture.

yantai-network.guide.english-marked.jpg

Image in courtesy of the hotel in Yantai. Brought back by Eric and photographed by Jian Shuo Wang

I am sure only the smartest people who knows Chinese can understand what they are talking about. I tried but still cannot get the original meaning. There is no chance for native English speakers to understand because the smart people who know both English and Chinese can translate the sentences to Chinese word by word and get the meaning.

Chinese version

Refer to the Chinese version if you can read both.

yantai-network.guide-marked.jpg

Image in courtesy of the hotel in Yantai. Brought back by Eric and photographed by Jian Shuo Wang

If you cannot read Chinese, why not have a try to translate it into proper English?

Update June 29, 2004

I started to worry about the negative impact these photo may bring to the hotel, to Yantai or even Shandong province. I didn’t mean that. This is just for fun. As eki_robin tested, the guide was directly translated by software. There are many such kind of translation around the country and maybe everyone who knows English can help to correct these errors. Here is something you can do.

  • Call the hotel manager to report the improper translation.
  • Help to create a better translation and send it to the receiption.
  • Call local media since the power of media will help people to pay attention to it.

19 thoughts on “English Instructions in Yantai

  1. single shot of rat mark “belong to the sex”

    after seeing it,a sentence came out of my mind “你地,花姑娘地,唷西~”

    well,since not mother tongue,the guy wants to be international,but seems they did’t take the right way.”弄巧成拙”

  2. How magic the translation machines are. Without the translation, I even didn’t noticed the big difference between English and Chinese – there are too many meaning of the same Chinese character and the translation machine has the power to choose the worst one for the scenario.

  3. To THINKWEB:”I’m shy” is wrong meaning here. “I’m ashamed”

    is correct.

  4. I noticed that you have now censored out the name of the hotel…

    did the hotel call to hassle you?

  5. I tried it in Kingsoft’s KingTrans 2003 pro( 金山快译). The english translation is as follows:

    The mansion breadth takes the internet access operation guidebook

    1.On the computer” table’s top” single shot” neighbor of the net”, click the right key in mark in rat, single shot” belong to the sex”.

    2.At” already the network module” single shot in inside in dialog box” TCP/ IP that install->” agreement, click” belong to the sex”, choice” obtain the IP address automatically”, and make sure.

    3. If the browser of IE tacit approval conjunction is to stirs the number link, pleasing change to establishes for the district net.

    4.Usage IE browser internet access view.

    :)

  6. So this settles it. Good work, eki. Not a person is to be blamed, nor the hotel. But htis should be relayed to Kingsoft, and all other translation untility developers.

    Jianshuo, have you or your friends thought of writing a book, something like Chinese-English and English-Chinese Glossary of PC & IT Terms? It would make you 2 tonnes of money, in Chinese and world markets. And your boss might even be willing to sponsor you with one ton advance.

  7. It seems clear that the hotel guide was translated into English using some software. We.. I bet the software has to put a disclaimer to state: Do not print it on paper and show it to others (especially Jian Shuo Wang). Haha.

    Alwin, I marked out the names of myself since I posted it just for fun, not to make the hotel embarrassing.

    There are many English to Chinese or Chinese to English glossary already, but the translation is not easy only with the glossary. :-D

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