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E-mail error ends up on road sign

news.bbc.co.uk — When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed. Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated."

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 2, 2008

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  • TimFrost, on 10/31/2008, -0/+216I was hoping this would say "I am a Nigerian general, and I have 24 billion pounds to put into your bank account...".

    Still funny nonetheless.
  • Floodle, on 11/01/2008, -3/+160At least it gave the Welsh speakers a bit of a laugh - both of them (jk)
  • doublefelix, on 11/02/2008, -3/+80Dugg for not titling this Welsh Sign Fail!!!
  • meimeimei, on 11/02/2008, -9/+64For everyone reading who doesn't know, in Wales EVERYBODY speaks English but only a small minority speak Welsh.

    The person who put their out of office reply in Welsh only is an IDIOT.
  • monojohnny, on 11/01/2008, -3/+49:-)

    Looking forward to seeing the sign : "HTTP 404: Dydi'r tydalen hwn ddim ar gael heno'r bryd.. " :)
  • inactive, on 11/02/2008, -8/+38True. You would think would speak Welsh using English words. Then the rest of the world could understand what they're saying
  • adoggz, on 11/02/2008, -0/+26FTA ""When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth."

    if they had someone who spoke welsh there they wouldn't need send out to get it translated, would they?
  • zeroshiftsl, on 11/02/2008, -3/+26I like this one better:

    http://dearjanesample.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/rea ...
  • Chaindrop, on 11/02/2008, -0/+20Maybe because it's an automatic reply.
  • AmbroseB, on 10/31/2008, -1/+21Dydw i ddim yn siarad Cymraeg - Arhoswch, rwy'n edrych am y gair yn y llyfr ymadroddion.

    The humour is out of this... office.
  • sjbdallas, on 11/01/2008, -12/+30Geez, welsh is kind of a weird language. It looked like random characters to me.
  • S1KING, on 11/02/2008, -0/+18Try this:

    "Soccer fans at match between the Oldham Latics and Chasetown Schlors - two sides who play in England, not Wales - in 2005 were confused when an advertisement board in Welsh (a different language to English) was put up by the side of the field. The sign should have gone to a different soccer match in Merthyr Tydfil, a small town in Wales."
  • chaoswings, on 11/02/2008, -0/+16"I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated".

    Assuming he is a full time translator (which we can assume if the reply was automated) the reply should be written in both languages. The reply seems to be very specific.
  • Sil369, on 11/02/2008, -1/+17i never knew welsh looked like that
  • chaoswings, on 11/02/2008, -0/+15The real question is why would the translator reply in Welsh? If they are asking for English to be translated to Welsh obviously no one would understand his reply. If someone could read it they would not need his services.
  • PabloMac, on 11/02/2008, -2/+14"Welsh it!"
  • spikewilbury, on 11/02/2008, -1/+11Look at him. He runs like a Welshman. Doesn't he run like a Welshman? Doesn't he? I think he runs like a Welshman.
  • ChayD, on 11/02/2008, -0/+10The online Welsh to English translator just failed on that one.
  • dsmx, on 11/02/2008, -0/+10Make a good code to put secret messages in though.
  • NathanielJ, on 11/02/2008, -1/+11I'd suspect that they probably put their OOO reply in both Welsh and English, but the person reading the e-mail was the idiot instead.
  • daedalous, on 11/02/2008, -1/+10Put your hands on the home row as normal, then shift all fingers one key to the right. Type. Instant Welsh!
  • PabloMac, on 11/02/2008, -1/+9Say it out loud before you bury me.
  • oyflaaaayvin, on 11/02/2008, -0/+7You forgot to add EPIC in all caps to the front of that, and MUST SEE at the end.
  • DelMonte, on 11/02/2008, -1/+8You didn't know? They communicate with melodic sounds that are not so far from what we call "songs". The songs can travel for miles under water.

    Oh wait... I thought you meant whales...
  • TheDaveBoy, on 11/02/2008, -0/+6The Klingon language is probably more widely spoken.
  • aneirin, on 11/02/2008, -1/+7blah blah heard it all before, mock our language all you want but you english are just pissed off you still failed to kill it after trying for 50 years.
    say nobody speaks it anymore, call it a dead language as much as you like. right now it's growing more than ever, and that's mostly in young people who like having a culture that isn't just made of america's left over *****.

    twll din pob sais.

    ... na, dim pob, mae gen i llawer o ffrindiau saesneg . mae rhan fwyaf o'r pobl yn iawn, twll din i'r teulu brenhinol a'r llywodraeth llundain.

  • acetv, on 11/02/2008, -0/+6Oh, I see. Thanks!
  • igyigyigy, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5Perhaps someone working as a Welsh translator, in Wales, might use Welsh as their first language sometimes?
  • monojohnny, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5You might actually be surprised where you can find the odd snippet of Welsh - even the US:

    For instance: (Philadelphia)

    http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=b ...

    The district is called 'Bryn Mawr' - Bryn = Hill, Mawr = Big.

    Just down the road there is a district called 'Elwyn' - not sure of the meaning there - but certainly looks Welsh.

    Also the Town Hall in the centre of Philly has a plaque written in Welsh. I don't really know the history, but I believe Pennsylvania was known as 'New Wales' or something at one point.

    In Cambridge, MA (Just down from MIT in fact) there is a small glass work of art with the word 'Dream' written in many languages on it: one of them is "Breuddwyd" - Welsh for Dream.

    And bizarrely Welsh is also spoken in a little enclave in Patagonia in Argentina - and believe me its sounds well-strange hearing it with a Hispanic Accent !

  • tnoy, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5http://i37.tinypic.com/1zmk19y.jpg

    (I'm trusting the online translator here)
  • spaceshipsix, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5I was looking for this comment. Obviously they wouldn't have needed to email a translator if they had one in person.
  • tech42er, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5hoarding = billboard?
    Wow.
  • Mujokan, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5This is an evil plot by the English. Everyone who can speak Welsh who passes by that sign will laugh so hard they crash their car.
  • thavi, on 11/02/2008, -0/+5the more i think about this the more my head hurts
  • acetv, on 11/02/2008, -4/+8"Football fans at a FA Cup tie between Oldham and Chasetown - two English teams - in 2005 were left scratching their heads after a Welsh-language hoarding was put up along the pitch. It should have gone to a match in Merthyr Tydfil."

    I guess I'm just not familiar with the vernacular because I have no clue what this is saying. Could someone translate this into American for me?
  • deadapostle, on 11/02/2008, -4/+8I thought that was Klingon.
  • aneirin, on 11/02/2008, -0/+4we even have our own tv channel! (it's *****)
  • SpongeBad, on 11/02/2008, -0/+4Not enough Ks and Aarrrrrs.
  • GavinZac, on 11/02/2008, -1/+5Dumb American.
  • MalachiConstant, on 11/02/2008, -1/+4Super Furry Animals ftw!
  • Torpov, on 11/02/2008, -0/+3SFA OK!
  • UKLooney, on 11/02/2008, -0/+3Here's the BBC News Video
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq2zVMgMgpg
  • mithrasinvictus, on 11/02/2008, -1/+4They should hire translators with more brains and less chips on their shoulder.
  • dhyancraig, on 11/02/2008, -0/+3lmao!
  • BotchaMcCoola, on 11/02/2008, -0/+3I bet the locals want to keep just as it is.
  • sfacets, on 11/02/2008, -1/+4Not an email error, an out of office reply.
  • Clancycoop, on 11/02/2008, -0/+3Original.
  • DelMonte, on 11/02/2008, -2/+5The officials probably sent an email to their usual translator asking:

    "How do you translate: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only" in welsh?"

    The answer was the automated reply, which they mistook for the translation. They probably assumed that the translator was too lazy to say "Here's what the phrase is in welsh:" and that he just replied the translated phrase.

  • Ramzy, on 11/02/2008, -2/+5Here you go:
    http://i38.tinypic.com/2d9ois4.jpg
  • RikkiTikki, on 11/02/2008, -0/+3There are plenty of Diggers who could translate that.
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