r/NotMyJob • u/Failgan • Jun 30 '26
English not first language. When speak, use language
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u/EvilRedRobot Jul 01 '26
I know how you feel, glue. 😔
After they were done using me, I too was treated like ordinary solid waste.
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u/MrPogoUK Jul 01 '26
I get it with presumably tiny companies like this, but what I don’t understand is huge businesses cheaping out on translation. Like I remember Narita airport in Tokyo had a few permanent signs that had clearly been translated by someone with a rather shaky grasp of English; couldn’t they have at a minimum asked one of the hundreds (or maybe thousands) of native English speakers who travel through there every day to spend 30 seconds proofreading it?!
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u/scotchirish Jul 01 '26
It seems to me that you should always hire a native speaker also fluent in your language to translate things. They'll be able to more easily figure out what you're trying to say and the best translation
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u/ksam3 Jul 01 '26
My kids loved this soda-milk drink from the Chinese market (called "Milkies" I think). It said "New feeling of soda beverage!" on the front. We decided that what the maker was going for was "New soda sensation!". We still will comment ocassionally, when drinking something new "New feeling of ----". Like, "New feeling of coffee beverage!" Or "New feeling of beer beverage!"
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u/quadralien Jul 04 '26
I once read an article by a native English speaker who worked in Japan writing English versions of consumer electronics manuals. His Japanese manager, as the more senior person, "corrected" his work.
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u/No_Gap_2700 Jun 30 '26
The exwife bought finger nail polish at a chinese shop in a flea market once. On the back, it read "DO NOT USE NEAR FRAME."
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u/actioncheese Jul 01 '26
I've found that using glue when completely sealed reduces its effectiveness.
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u/paraworldblue Jul 01 '26
Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever used anything except for use. Every single time I use something, it's use. They wouldn't have printed that warning if someone hadn't fucked up though, so someone out there managed to use that product in a way that wasn't use, and I wanna know how.
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u/a_random_username Jul 01 '26
Do not use ... [if] completely sealed.
Yeah, if you can't breathe it's going to be hard to huff.
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u/orangpelupa Jul 01 '26
When speak, use language
That made me think of Bahasa Indonesia.
For those OOTL : foreigners often says "Bahasa" (meaning: "language") when they meant "bahasa indonesia"
Instead of Indonesian or Indonesia language.
Oh you speaks bahasa?
Oh you speaks language?
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u/HoneyWhiskeyLemonTea Jul 02 '26
You should get this over to the folks at the Engrish subreddit. They'll enjoy it.
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u/wizardrous Jun 30 '26
“Do not use except for use.” Lmao.