The Translation Police: English/Spanish Division

As seen on a Public Transportation Bus in South Florida

Spanish is the second language in the United States and ranking 2nd in the world spoken by 329 million (Chinese 1.21 Billion, English 328 million). Therefore, it should be translated properly and not butchered by “professional translation companies” and independent translators/interpreters charging all kinds of money for a below mediocre translation, which tragically happens on a daily basis in a variety of industries around the world and in this great country of ours affecting the professional image of many corporations and even government agencies and entities. If you are a native speaker and read a label on a product or in the contents of a webpage written in what I call “Tarzan English” (me Tarzan you Jane), you would not think so highly about or even trust the source of the product in question.

We will post such mistranslations on a weekly basis. We welcome your comments and are open to different suggestions of what you think would be the proper and most accurate way of translating the phrase in question.  

This is not about proving somebody wrong, but rather making sure that at least a minimal standard of professionalism is kept in this so crucial and important Industry of ours. 

     MISTRANSLATION OF THE WEEK
Only in Ameri-Qua!

By the way, ‘TOQUAR’ doesn’t even exist in the Spanish language.

SUGGESTED TRANSLATION BY THE PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION GROUP:
Por favor espere a que se encienda la luz verde. Luego toque la cinta amarilla para abrir.

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