‘English Gone Wrong: We Certainly Didn't Mean That!’
By Alexander Brighton contain some of the best (or worst) examples of
English gone terribly wrong.
Having had the opportunity to study many English translated
books of Russian authors; I found this collection of linguistic marvels
nostalgic. I think the first one itself is the best: ‘The lift is being fixed
for the next day’. If ‘During that time we regret that you will be unbearable,’
or ‘Please leave your values at the
front desk’, can make one wonder about what to expect next, ‘Our wines leave you nothing to hope
for’, and ‘Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists’ will leave you with awe.
‘It is strictly forbidden on
our black forest camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men
and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other
for that purpose’, will certainly put one in doubt, how these places have a
continuing populace.
This is an excellent book for light reading, and also as
useful addition to ones kitty of ice breakers. This also book brought many an
instance of my previous association with Russian experts, to fore. For example,
for those from the technical background, one of the most common words we come
across in description of any system, or machine, happens to be ‘reset’. In
Russian language, the word for reset also means ‘release’, ‘discharge’, or
‘dump’, and we had a tough time learning valves and switches dropping,
discharging, resetting etc. at odd occasions.
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