Thread: Lost in translation

On just-english.ru they have a collection of dumb translations, exam answers and misprints made by Russian students:

Talking at the exam

- What do you know about Boston Tea Party?
- I believe many citizens of Boston were the active members of this political party!

The 3 branches of government are: the executive, the legislative and the jewish.

To be elected to Parliament you don't have to be a criminal.

In our hard time I was between the choice to become a lawyer or a criminal...

Last year I had my personal teacher.

I study English because I need intercourse with other people.

- Who is your father?
- My father is Андрей.
- Is it his main occupation?
- No, I think he works somewhere.


Misprints

policement

miss understanding

United Stations of America

the court fried the murderer (tried )


Translations

an eye for an eye - ухо за ухо

the conception of police - зачатие полицейского

the credibility of witness - дебильность свидетеля

Native Americans - родные американцы

Caesar was killed by the member of his bodyguard - Цезарь был убит членом своего телохранителя

neighbourhood - колпак соседа

criminals are perverse people - преступники - люди несговорчивые

notorious murderer - нотариус-убийца

a watch-dog body - тушка сторожевой собаки

children are complete people - дети являются законченными людьми

settlement before the trial - поселение напротив суда

his punishment was block and axe - наказанием ему была тумбочка и топор

Indian chiefs - руководители индейцев

a scapegoat - космический козёл

intelligence officers - интеллигентные офицеры

rabid dog - свихнувшаяся собака

a juror should keep an open mind during the hearing - присяжный должен открыть рот и слушать

he worked as a farmer - он работал крестьянином

electoral vote - электрический голос

cornerstone - треугольный камень

in the end of the trial the judge discharges the jury - в конце процесса судья отключает присяжных

the reign of Tudor of England- правление Фёдора Aнглийского

the governor of the settlers - гувернёр поселенцев

homicide - человеческая сторона

at the site of residence of Scottish Kings in the 18th century - на сайте резидентов Шотландских королей в 18 веке

Independence Hall - свободный зал

Liberty Bell - свободный звонок

forefathers - для пап

Massachussetts - Масахасэтс

fraud and drug squad - отряд мошенников и наркоманов

main solver of crime - основной раскрытель преступления

one of the signers of Declaration of Independence - один из певцов декларации независимости

perfumed ink - благоухающий инкорпорэйтед

his early education was in Hebrew - его раннее образование происходило в Хибрю

They have more of it there: http://www.just-english.ru/5e.htm

Hilarious, made my day.

Originally Posted by Triton

In our hard time I was between the choice to become a lawyer or a criminal...

Sounds like a fairly normal dilemma for a Russian in the 1990s ...

miss understanding

I have seen native speakers write that

the court fried the murderer (tried )

An everyday occurrence in the United Stations of America




Ceasar was killed by the member of his bodyguard - Цезарь был убит членом своего телохранителя
The English version is supposed to be the joke here right? Because the English version is very funny (oh, and it should be "Caesar" by the way)

The English version is supposed to be the joke here right?

I don't know... Maybe it was from some English textbook written by Russian.

oh, and it should be "Caesar" by the way

Oh! Right. My mistake. In the original it goes "He was killed...", "Цезарь" appears only in translation.

Originally Posted by Triton

The English version is supposed to be the joke here right?

I don't know... Maybe it was from some English textbook written by Russian.
[quote:37v6gxr9]oh, and it should be "Caesar" by the way

Oh! Right. My mistake. In the original it goes "He was killed...", "Цезарь" appears only in translation.[/quote:37v6gxr9]

I thought Caesar was killed by Brutus his son, and not by any body part of his body guard...

Originally Posted by Triton

To be elected to Parliament you don't have to be a criminal.

I didn't know that?

Originally Posted by Triton

In our hard time I was between the choice to become a lawyer or a criminal...

What's the difference?

Originally Posted by Triton

I study English because I need intercourse with other people.

Me too! Let's intercouse.

I thought Caesar was killed by Brutus his son, and not by any body part of his body guard...

I've never heard about bodygards too. Maybe there are different versions of how it happend. In the textbooks they usually say he was killed by a group of senators lead by Cassius and Brutus. (And, as far as I know, Brutus wasn't his son, it's just a legend. He was his favorite or something.)