TRANSLATION BLUNDERS

Take a look at 7 of the worst “lost in translation” cases in history

Image: Afif Ramdhasuma

Amateurish translations can be a recipe for disaster, especially when international politics or your business future are at stake! Traduttore, traditore! is an old Italian saying that roughly means "translators are traitors." However this saying has nothing to do with wartime propaganda or chauvinistic sentiments, and it’s instead a rather lighthearted take on the inherent difficulty of a translator’s line of work.

You might wonder, how bad can you make things with a bad translation? Well, there’s no need to wonder, the profession is full of hysterical stories about the craziest translation blunders that almost managed to ruin whole thriving businesses and reputations.

Image: Tim Mossholder

Around the 1960s, Pepsi decided to expand its business to China only to find a literal linguistic barrier that almost ruined the whole venture. At the time, Pepsi’s slogan in English-speaking countries was "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation." However, when directly translated into Chinese, the slogan read something like "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead," turning the favorite cola of millions into a powerful dark magic concoction that—as one could expect—wasn’t very well received by the Chinese population, who just happen to hold their deceased ancestors in great esteem.

Image: Enq 1998

When Napoleon’s brother was crowned king of Holland in 1806, he was eager to please the local populace and quickly decided to change his name to something more fitting, from Ludovic to Lodewijk. However, he was such a bad speaker of Dutch that, during the coronation ceremony, he ended up declaring himself the "Rabbit of 'Olland," instead of "King of Holland."

Image: Aaron Burden

This one is absolutely hilarious, and just like the Pepsi gaffe, it shows the dangers of localizing new products when you aren’t fully aware of the language. When Parker Pens decided to expand its business into Mexico, it mistranslated the company’s current slogan "It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you"— surprising by itself, since you would expect that to be the bare minimum in order to have a working pen— into "It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant," due to a confusion with the similarity between the false cognates "embarazar" (get pregnant) in Spanish and "embarrass" in English.

Image: Tuntematon, Valkoisen talon valokuvaajat (01/20/1977 - 01/20/1981), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, during a trip to Poland, U.S. President Jimmy Carter took an involuntary part in a series of incredibly funny translation fails. His amateur interpreter was terribly bad at speaking Polish—and even understanding English apparently—because when the president mentioned that he had left the U.S. that morning, the interpreter said to the Polish audience that "he had left his country, never to return." To make matters even worse, Carter’s enthusiastic appeal to the Polish people was mistranslated again and the interpreter said that the president wanted to "get to know the Poles carnally."

Image: Jen Theodore

When beer brand Coors tried to get into the Spanish market, it failed to hire a decent translator, since the company’s tagline "Turn It Loose" was translated into something akin to "Suffer From Diarrhea," something you definitely don’t want to see in a beer can from overseas.

Image: Thomas Kelley

When General Electric released a new partnership brand in France under the acronym GPT, no one realized that, in French, this acronym can be read as "J’ai pété," or "I farted." You can imagine that if they just hired a French teenager, they would have discovered their mistake soon enough, saving themselves a lot of time and money.

Image: Miika Laaksonen

A Swedish non-prescription drug used to alleviate stomach pains called Samarin wanted to market its product to Arabic countries with a text-free three-panel comic strip that showed a man with a hurting stomach in its first picture, the same man drinking Samarin in the second, and a happy and healthy man in the last one. But they forgot to take into account that in the Arab world people read both books and comic strips from the right to the left! So, not even avoiding text whatsoever saved them from screwing up their new business expansion.

Time changes everything

These 12 job titles mean something very different today than they used to

Language preserves history in unexpected places. Many job titles that seem ordinary today began with entirely different meanings, reflecting the needs of medieval kingdoms, noble households, religious institutions, and even long-forgotten professions. Although the work behind these titles has changed dramatically over the centuries, the words themselves continue to carry traces of the past wherever they are used.

Today, a secretary is usually associated with calendars, correspondence, and office organization. But centuries ago, a secretary was a trusted keeper of confidential information. The word comes from the Latin secretarius, referring to someone entrusted with secrets and private affairs.

In royal courts and governments, secretaries often served as influential advisers rather than clerical workers. The title still carries traces of that earlier status in positions such as Secretary of State, where the role involves high-level decision-making rather than routine paperwork.

A modern clerk may work in an office, store, courthouse, or government agency. Originally, however, a clerk was a member of the clergy. During the Middle Ages, churches and monasteries were among the few places where people regularly learned to read and write.

Because clergy handled many written records, the word gradually became associated with literacy itself. As education spread beyond religious institutions, the meaning shifted from "churchman" to someone responsible for records, documents, and administrative work.

Today, marshals are often law enforcement officers or senior military officials. The title has surprisingly humble roots. It comes from an old Germanic term meaning something close to "horse servant" or "keeper of horses."

In medieval times, horses were essential for transportation, communication, and warfare. The official responsible for managing them gained increasing authority, and over centuries, the role evolved into one of the most prestigious military and governmental titles in many countries.

Modern Americans know sheriffs as elected county law-enforcement officials. The title dates back more than a thousand years to Anglo-Saxon England, where a sheriff was known as a shire-reeve.

A shire was a county, and a reeve was a royal administrator. Early sheriffs collected taxes, enforced the king’s orders, managed courts, and supervised local government. Fighting crime was only one part of a much broader set of responsibilities.

The butler is often portrayed as the head servant in a grand household. Yet the job originally revolved around something much more specific: wine. Early butlers were responsible for managing wine cellars and serving valuable beverages.

Because wine represented both wealth and status, the position required trust and responsibility. Over time, butlers gained authority over other servants and eventually became the chief managers of large households.

Today, the title steward may be used for airline attendants, ship personnel, or event supervisors. Historically, a steward was a powerful official responsible for managing a noble household, estate, or even an entire territory.

The word comes from Old English terms meaning "household guardian." Medieval stewards oversaw finances, property, staff, and daily operations. Some became influential political figures who effectively governed on behalf of kings and nobles.

Most people immediately think of medicine when they hear the word doctor. Originally, however, a doctor was simply a teacher. The word comes from the Latin docere, meaning "to teach."

Medieval universities awarded the title to scholars qualified to instruct others at the highest level. Long before it became closely associated with physicians, doctors could be experts in theology, law, philosophy, and other academic disciplines.

A minister today can lead a government department or serve as a religious leader. The word’s original meaning is surprisingly modest. In Latin, minister meant "servant" or "attendant."

The title emphasized service rather than authority. Over time, ministers became trusted representatives of rulers and governments, eventually overseeing major areas of public policy while retaining a word that originally suggested humility and assistance.

Modern engineers design everything from skyscrapers to software. The title originally referred to specialists who built or operated military "engines," a term once used for siege machines such as catapults and trebuchets.

These experts combined technical skill with practical problem-solving. As technology expanded during the Industrial Revolution, the meaning broadened dramatically, eventually encompassing the countless engineering fields that exist today.

An accountant now manages financial records, audits, taxes, and budgets. Historically, the role was more closely tied to giving an account: that is, explaining how money or resources had been used.

Kings, merchants, and estate owners needed trusted individuals to report on financial matters. As trade and commerce became more complex, accounting evolved into a highly specialized profession recognized around the world today.

For centuries, a computer was not a machine at all. It was a person whose job involved performing calculations. Governments, observatories, universities, and scientific organizations employed teams of human computers to solve mathematical problems.

Human computers played important roles in astronomy, navigation, engineering, and even early space research. Only in the mid-20th century did electronic machines become so closely associated with the work that they inherited the title themselves.

Today, pilots are most commonly associated with airplanes. Yet the word was guiding vessels long before powered flight existed. Originally, a pilot was an expert navigator who directed ships through difficult harbors, rivers, and coastal waters.

These specialists relied on detailed local knowledge to help vessels avoid hazards and reach their destinations safely. When aviation emerged in the early 1900s, the title naturally transferred to those guiding aircraft through the skies.