By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Weirdest lost in translation?
I was in Shanghai for Christmas two years ago and we went out on Christmas eve to a Chinese club. When it got to midnight everyone in the club started singing happy birthday to Jesus; because, you know, it's his birthday. I thought it was pretty funny. Any other good ones?
I saw that in a movie once "Full Metal Jacket".....you mean everyone doesn't do that?
wuweizea:
I did get presents from some of my co workers for Thanksgiving....does that count? I am hoping for a fancy turkey dinner on Xmas!
I've a lot of stories in the "Lost In Translation" chapter, so I just pick one.
I was two months into my position as comp. sci. teacher in a public university. I'm the only foreigner there. Being there only for two months, my mandarin skills are still very sketchy. The admin. organization guy comes to my office, and inform me that all teaching staffs are required to participate to a choral competition. The training for the choral will be twice a week. Impossible to avoid it, order from the highest level. I try to argue that I can't sing in my native language, much less in Mandarin. Nope. Mandatory for all teaching staffs, I'm teaching staff. Face palm, grumbles.
At the choral training, I'm given the lyrics and the music partition. The lyrics are in mandarin, no pinyin. I can't read the damned thing. So I try to follow the others, but it's of course a disaster. I was... LOST IN TRANSLATION !
andy74rc:
Bo-bobobooo-bo..... lalla-lalala-lalallaaa-lalalaala....... 
Robk:
Haha,
I bet all the teachers were glancing and looking at you too because they KNEW you couldn't sing it and see what you would try to do.
That is ridiculous but you could just try saying some of the most random Chinese sounds like... shi, ming, wo, ni... randomly and hope for the best lol
DrMonkey:
I tried everything to escape the choir sessions. I was telling to every possible colleague "hu, look I can't read the lyrics, I don't understand one word of it, and I can't follow you, it's just madness". They always did an embarrassed smile and telling me it would be ok. The Twilight Zone.
icnif77:
I would make sure, someone takes 'snapshot' of my performance. Memories.
I was cooking stew a while back and my mother-in-law asked me what I was doing and, in my broken Chinese, I accidently told her I was mixing drugs. Made another mistake 8 years ago that has since become a popular online joke, namely mispronouncing suan tian paigu and inadvertently requesting sweet and sour arse in a restaurant. Apparently the gag's even been used on some comedy show. Didn't get any royalties for it though.
I got lots of them. Let me show you one that left me absolutely flabbergasted.
Girl: QQ meeting of my sister did not you? First survey of the telephone company mute. 
me: Uh... what? 
Girl: God, the disease! You are a fool! 
me: Uh... uhhhhhh........ fuck you?
Girl: BYE!! *angry walk off*
What the HELL was that?
DrMonkey:
It was... automatic translation :D I remember QQ chat with random people who could not speak one word of English, so they used an automatic translator. It gives that kind of conversations. That's why I don't use QQ :D
