Molotov

I am going to coin a new term for linguistic failures that really piss me off:
Language + Rage = LANGRAGE

Of all the ways that Japanese differs from English, the one that probably bothers me the most is the fact that the passive voice is quite normal in everyday writing and conversation. Take, for example, the following English sentence from my translation for the day:

A palladium alloy membrane of 10 to 20 μm in thickness is wound around a cylindrical substrate of 34 mm in outer diameter and 300 mm in length.

How do you think this sentence was originally translated before it graced my desk for a final check before getting sent off to the client?

Around a cylindrical substrate of 34 mm in outer diameter and 300 mm in length, a palladium alloy membrane of 10 to 20 μm in thickness is wound.

/facepalm

EDIT: And yes, bad translators really *do* come across sounding like Yoda.

Philondra wrote:I am going to coin a new term for linguistic failures that really piss me off:
Language + Rage = LANGRAGE

Of all the ways that Japanese differs from English, the one that probably bothers me the most is the fact that the passive voice is quite normal in everyday writing and conversation. Take, for example, the following English sentence from my translation for the day:

A palladium alloy membrane of 10 to 20 μm in thickness is wound around a cylindrical substrate of 34 mm in outer diameter and 300 mm in length.

How do you think this sentence was originally translated before it graced my desk for a final check before getting sent off to the client?

Around a cylindrical substrate of 34 mm in outer diameter and 300 mm in length, a palladium alloy membrane of 10 to 20 μm in thickness is wound.

/facepalm

EDIT: And yes, bad translators really *do* come across sounding like Yoda.

Arcages. B Munters.
Ahaha rico.

My own langrage is at the disregard some journalists have toward precision in speech.

Case in point (or point in case if you prefer):

"Mr Rudd will give a tribute to Mr Crean, as well as former Whitlam government minister Doug McClelland and Mr Crean's two sons."

Aside from the fact this is just generally sloppy, it implies rather a different meaning from what was intended (ie, not "OMG! Doug McClelland and both the Crean sons have died too?):

"Mr Rudd, along with former Whitlam government minister Doug McClelland and Mr Crean's two sons, will give a tribute to Mr Crean."

That's better, but still awkward; the journo in question should just have rewritten the damn thing and be done with it. Also: They should have quit and taken their editor with them.

The worst of it is that that same article appeared on about 4 different news stories - and nobody's editor saw fit to fix it.

I actually thought Mr. Rudd was paying off Mr. Clean with some form of tribute. And then that Doug and his brood wanted in on the action so he was giving some to them as well. Sounds like a Big Gay Orgy to me.