The Mother Tongue

HannibalBarka

We are Free
Joined
May 14, 2003
Messages
3,956
Location
Paris, France
In a Bangkok temple:
"IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A
MAN."

Cocktail lounge, Norway:
"LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR."

At a Budapest zoo:
"PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD, GIVE
IT
TO THE GUARD ON DUTY."

Doctors office, Rome:
"SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Hotel, Acapulco:
"THE MANAGER HAS PERSONALLY PASSED ALL THE WATER SERVED HERE."

Dry cleaners, Bangkok:
"DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS.

In a Nairobi restaurant:
"CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER."

On the grounds of a private school:
"NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION."

On an Athi River highway:
"TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE."

On a poster at Kencom:
"ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO, WE CAN HELP."

In a City restaurant:
"OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS.

One of the Mathare buildings:
"MENTAL HEALTH PREVENTION CENTRE.

A sign seen on an automatic restroom hand dryer:
"DO NOT ACTIVATE WITH WET HANDS."

In a Pumwani maternity ward:
"NO CHILDREN ALLOWED."

In a cemetery:
"PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN
GRAVES."

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations:
"GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN
BED."

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
"OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR."

In a Tokyo bar:
"SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS."

Hotel brochure, Italy:
"THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, CROWDS FROM
ALL
OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE."

Hotel lobby, Bucharest:
"THE LIFT IS BEING FIXED FOR THE NEXT DAY. DURING THAT TIME WE REGRET
THAT
YOU WILL BE UNBEARABLE."

Hotel elevator, Paris:
"PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VALUES AT THE FRONT DESK."

Hotel, Yugoslavia:
"THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE
CHAMBERMAID."

Hotel, Japan:
"YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID."

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:
"YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET
COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY."

Taken from a menu, Poland:
"SALAD A FIRM'S OWN MAKE; LIMPID RED BEET SOUP WITH CHEESY DUMPLINGS IN
THE
FORM OF A FINGER; ROASTED DUCK LET LOOSE; BEEF RASHERS BEATEN IN THE
COUNTRY
PEOPLE'S FASHION."

Supermarket, Hong Kong:
"FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, WE RECOMMEND COURTEOUS, EFFICIENT SELF-SERVICE."

>From the "Soviet Weekly":
"THERE WILL BE A MOSCOW EXHIBITION OF ARTS BY 15,000 SOVIET REPUBLIC
PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS. THESE WERE EXECUTED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS."

In an East African newspaper:
"A NEW SWIMMING POOL IS RAPIDLY TAKING SHAPE SINCE THE CONTRACTORS HAVE
THROWN IN THE BULK OF THEIR WORKERS."

Hotel, Vienna:
"IN CASE OF FIRE, DO YOUR UTMOST TO ALARM THE HOTEL PORTER."

A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest:
"IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE
OF
DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT
UNLESS
THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE."

Hotel, Zurich:
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX
IN
THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE."

An advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist:
"TEETH EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS."

Tourist agency, Czechoslovakia:
"TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS. WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES."

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand:
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?"

In the window on a Swedish furrier:
"FUR COATS MADE FOR LADIES FROM THEIR OWN SKIN."

The box of a clockwork toy made in Hong Kong:
"GUARANTEED TO WORK THROUGHOUT ITS USEFUL LIFE."

In a Swiss mountain inn:
"SPECIAL TODAY - NO ICE-CREAM."

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen:
"WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS."

On the door of a Moscow hotel room:
"IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST VISIT TO THE USSR, YOU ARE WELCOME TO IT."

A laundry in Rome:
"LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD
TIME."
 
There's a book I have called No ****ting In The Toilet, which is taken whole from a sign that the author saw hung on a lavatory in a part of China he once visited.
 
Reprinted from WSJ:
THE TOP 15 CHINESE TRANSLATIONS OF ENGLISH MOVIE TITLES

15. "Pretty Woman" -- "I Will Marry a Prostitute to Save Money"

14. "Face/Off" -- "Who Is Face Belonging To? I Kill You Again, Harder!"

13. "Leaving Las Vegas" -- "I'm Drunk And You're a Prostitute"

12. "Interview With The Vampire" -- "So, You Are a Lawyer?"

11. "The Piano" -- "Ungrateful Adulteress! I Chop Off Your Finger!"

10. "My Best Friend's Wedding" -- "Help! My Pretend Boyfriend Is Gay!"

9. "George of the Jungle" -- "Big Dumb Monkey-Man Keeps Whacking Tree
With Genitals"

8. "Scent of a Woman" -- "Great Buddha! I Can Smell You From Afar!
Take a Bath, Will You?!"

7. "Love, Valour, Compassion!" -- "I Am That Guy From Seinfeld So It's
Acceptable for Straight People to Enjoy This Gay Movie"

6. "Babe" -- "The Happy Dumpling-to-be Who Talks And Solves Agricultural
Problems"

5. "Twister" -- "Run! Ruuunnnn! Cloudzillaaaaa!"

4. "Field of Dreams" -- "Imaginary Dead Baseball Players Live in My
Cornfield"

3. "Barb Wire" -- "Delicate Orbs of Womanhood Bigger Than Your Head Can
Hurt You"

2. "Batman & Robin" -- "Come to My Cave and Wear This Rubber Codpiece,
Cute Boy"

1. "The Crying Game" -- "Oh No! My Girlfriend Has a Penis!"
 
Clothing shop in Hong Kong:
Men's clothing downstairs.
Ladies may have a fit upstairs.

The weight watchers had a meeting at the first presbyterian church somewhere (can't recall where it was). On one (locked) door there is a sign.
"Please use the large double door to the left"
 
Clever . . .
 
Originally posted by jpowers
Reprinted from WSJ:
THE TOP 15 CHINESE TRANSLATIONS OF ENGLISH MOVIE TITLES

15. "Pretty Woman" -- "I Will Marry a Prostitute to Save Money"

14. "Face/Off" -- "Who Is Face Belonging To? I Kill You Again, Harder!"

13. "Leaving Las Vegas" -- "I'm Drunk And You're a Prostitute"

12. "Interview With The Vampire" -- "So, You Are a Lawyer?"

11. "The Piano" -- "Ungrateful Adulteress! I Chop Off Your Finger!"

10. "My Best Friend's Wedding" -- "Help! My Pretend Boyfriend Is Gay!"

9. "George of the Jungle" -- "Big Dumb Monkey-Man Keeps Whacking Tree
With Genitals"

8. "Scent of a Woman" -- "Great Buddha! I Can Smell You From Afar!
Take a Bath, Will You?!"

7. "Love, Valour, Compassion!" -- "I Am That Guy From Seinfeld So It's
Acceptable for Straight People to Enjoy This Gay Movie"

6. "Babe" -- "The Happy Dumpling-to-be Who Talks And Solves Agricultural
Problems"

5. "Twister" -- "Run! Ruuunnnn! Cloudzillaaaaa!"

4. "Field of Dreams" -- "Imaginary Dead Baseball Players Live in My
Cornfield"

3. "Barb Wire" -- "Delicate Orbs of Womanhood Bigger Than Your Head Can
Hurt You"

2. "Batman & Robin" -- "Come to My Cave and Wear This Rubber Codpiece,
Cute Boy"

1. "The Crying Game" -- "Oh No! My Girlfriend Has a Penis!"

*sigh* no wonder the rest of the owrld thinks the west has corrupt moral values...

those signs are funny as hell though :goodjob: :D
 
I like poorly translated humor :lol:
 
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