Lost in translation! Former education secretary's huge billboard message gets Pattaya laughs!

[webfact]

Lost in translation! Former education secretary's huge billboard message gets Pattaya laughs!

 

Picture: PPTV

 

A huge billboard in Pattaya became the subject of much online merriment after Thai netizens noticed an absurd translation from Thai language.

 

It appeared that someone had been using Google Translate - notoriously unreliable when it comes to translating Thai into English. 

 

The message was from former education ministry secretary and Chonburi Pheu Thai Party MP Charnyuth Hengtrakoon who even signed his name to the translation.

 

It said "Welcome to Pattaya" (so far so good)

 

Then continued in Thai with "phuak rao chaaw Pattaya, yaa "gard tok" khraphom".

 

This should mean something like "Pattaya people! Don't let your guard down". (Khraphom is a term or politeness here shown by a man but also means "me").

 

Then the problems started. 

 

This was translated as: "We pattaya. Do not "fall card" me". 

 

PPTV said that netizens were sure that foreigners who couldn't read Thai must have been completely "งง" - ngong = confused.

 

Here at Thaivisa we tried Google translate and it came back as: Don't "fall guard" me. 

 

The billboard also implored people to respect social distancing. 

 

The moral of this story is beware Google Translate, or perhaps learn to read Thai! 

 

Source: PPTV

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-10-09

 

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[LennyW]

LOL, Google translate actually works quite well from Thai to English......providing the written Thai is correct, but start with Dialects such as Issan Thai then the Google translate goes into meltdown, some of the translations whilst obviously wrong can be highly amusing!!

[alianware]

The problem is "Kraphom" is never mean "me". It's like "yes sir" or to require other person to pay attention in a polite way.

 

Whoever translate that, has no sensibility of language.

[NE1]

But where are the proof readers that are supposed to translate Thai to English .

Didn't the office of former education ministry secretary and Chonburi Pheu Thai Party MP Charnyuth Hengtrakoon get to see the completed sign before it was posted ?

[owl sees all]

[NCC1701A]

"Except you NCC1701A. My sister says you lie man."

 

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, NE1 said:

But where are the proof readers that are supposed to translate Thai to English .

Didn't the office of former education ministry secretary and Chonburi Pheu Thai Party MP Charnyuth Hengtrakoon get to see the completed sign before it was posted ?

proofread, check, confirm, second opinion ..... not the way things work.

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Lost in translation! Former education secretary's huge billboard message gets Pattaya laughs!

I cracked up just looking at his flowerpot hat.

[AhFarangJa]

O.K.  I guess there are going to be others posted, so..............

[DPKANKAN]

6 hours ago, LennyW said:

LOL, Google translate actually works quite well from Thai to English......providing the written Thai is correct, but start with Dialects such as Issan Thai then the Google translate goes into meltdown, some of the translations whilst obviously wrong can be highly amusing!!

Also the Google Lens app is good. Certainly translating written Thai. 

Used it recently to translate 99% of my missus restaurant menu to an English one!! ????????????????

[SunsetT]

The former education secretary needs educating..........as do 99.9% of the Thai population!

[Justgrazing]

The top one needs a Chic' translation as well .. 

I've heard of a spit roast but never a chicken .. 

 

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The message was from former education ministry secretary and Chonburi Pheu Thai Party MP Charnyuth Hengtrakoon who even signed his name to the translation.

 

[bluebluewater]

Would I post a sign in Thai language without checking with several sources that it was saying exactly what I wanted it to say?  Impossible that I would do such a thing.  No way. 

 

Yet these goofballs do that kind of thing commonly.  

[Rimmer]

Troll meme has been removed

[samsensam]

1 hour ago, SunsetT said:

The former education secretary needs educating..........as do 99.9% of the Thai population!

 

comments like this say more about you than the people of thailand. my thai friends are well educated with professional jobs, most speak very good english, many have bachelor and/or master degrees from western universities (have you attained a degree in a second language?), they are widely travelled and well informed.

 

if you stepped out of the bar and discovered the real thailand and its wonderful people you'd be able to make better informed comments.

[GreasyFingers]

14 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

comments like this say more about you than the people of thailand. my thai friends are well educated with professional jobs, most speak very good english, many have bachelor and/or master degrees from western universities (have you attained a degree in a second language?), they are widely travelled and well informed.

 

if you stepped out of the bar and discovered the real thailand and its wonderful people you'd be able to make better informed comments.

They should offer their services to stop Thailand looking uneducated.

[Stocky]

22 minutes ago, samsensam said:

my thai friends are well educated with professional jobs, most speak very good english, many have bachelor and/or master degrees from western universities, they are widely travelled and well informed.

But the social circle you describe is not that of the average Thai.

[Nakdontree]

I'm pretty sure that there is a fee for wearing a helmet. This sign clearly explains how to avoid paying this fee: Ride without helmets!

 

(as seen near Soi Kophai/Pattaya South Road)

 

[Stargeezr]

My wife and her 2 sisters all have their last names spelled differently because

they all had different people issue them their passports.  Yes Thailand still has a long

way to go before they perfect translating Thai to English, but if it provides us

with a laugh these days,  Great!

Geezer

[RocketDog]

My problem with understanding some Thai people has nothing whatsoever to do with the language. 

 

As with all cultures there are voids of understanding that are not easily crossed. It's all part of the wonder and adventure of living in a foreign country. Most often it's amusing but at times just aggravating and frustrating. Sometimes it's even enlightening. 

 

I have to draw the line at eating rotten fish though. I'm sufficiently narrow- minded enough to not even want to understand that. ????

[paulbj2]

My favourite translation foul-up was not from Thai to English but French to English. It was the instructions on a French steel omelette pan. What the instructions meant (if you translated the French correctly) was "The anti-rust coating on the pan should be removed, using a rag soaked in alcohol, before use". However the translation was clearly done by a native French speaker with secondary school English and read "The anti-rust coating must be removed using a tampon soaked in burning alcohol, before using"

[SunsetT]

22 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

comments like this say more about you than the people of thailand. my thai friends are well educated with professional jobs, most speak very good english, many have bachelor and/or master degrees from western universities (have you attained a degree in a second language?), they are widely travelled and well informed.

 

if you stepped out of the bar and discovered the real thailand and its wonderful people you'd be able to make better informed comments.

Exactly! You are talking about the privileged 0.01% who have been Western educated and travelled abroad. You are proving my point.

 

Its sad that you feel the need to jump to conclusions about me and insult me. Also your thinking that being uneducated is an insult to the Thai people is wrong. I'm merely pointing it out. I've lived in rural NE Thailand for 14 years amongst those wonderful uneducated Thai people. In fact, on the whole, I prefer them to those educated.

[mikebell]

About right for a former Education minister; check out A-Nut-in the cabinet Health minister.