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thought this might make a few of you laugh, especially with many of us *trying* to learn turkish or english through tc.
from http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=101433
JENNIFER EATON GÖKMEN
İSTANBUL
30.01.2007
Plenty of foreigners have had a good laugh at faulty Turkish-to-English translations. Now it’s payback time. See what mistakes we foreigners make while speaking Turkish…
Expats, you know you’re guilty of it. Most of us English-speaking foreigners are. Whether it comes from some innate protectiveness of our linguistic heritage or perhaps a habit of nit picking, it seems so easy to single out the mistakes non-native English speakers make while using “our†language.
Example: You glance at the menu your waiter offers and immediately start sniggering at the erroneous translations, pointing them out to the others at your table to share (a hopefully muted) a laugh.
I’m not judging you. I’m guilty of having done it myself. In fact, let me share with you some of my personal favorites:
Piliç Çevirmesi/Chicken Translation. Rotisserie chicken. “Çevirmek†means to translate, but also to turn.
Saç Gözleme/Hair Watching. Gözleme is a thin griddle bread. Here the words have been translated using the most common definitions rather than their contextual meanings. “Saç†does mean hair, but also means metal griddle. “Gözleme†does mean “observation,†but in the culinary use, it means “pancakeâ€.
Mantı/Logi. Mantı is Turkish ravioli. This translation was most baffling until I realized that if you drop the “k†from “mantık†you get “mantı.†And if “mantık†means “logic,†then you could drop the “c†from “logic†to get the name of your dish!
Of course, mistranslations aren’t limited to the realm of restaurant menus. Neither are language mistakes confined to the domain of Turks learning English. We expats living in Turkey provide a good deal of linguistic blunders for Turks to laugh at as well -- if they weren’t too polite to point and laugh like we do!
Let’s reflect on some of the great mistakes expats in Turkey have made while stumbling through their acquisition of the local language. What follows are some first-hand favorites along with a few urban legends. Names changed to protect the innocent and/or embarrassed.
First there are the small, amusing mistakes of little consequence, like Donna’s insistence on “merdiven†(stair) soup instead of “mercimek†(lentil). Also in this category is Taya’s ingenious way of saying “no†before she had learned the word for it. She would say, “evet değil†(not yes). A little more awkward was Debby’s response to callers to indicate her husband wasn’t available. â€œİşiyor†(he’s urinating) she would say, instead of “çalışıyor†(he’s working).
These breaches are easily forgivable, but then there are the mortifying mistakes you feel you will never live down, those that keep coming back to haunt you…
Don’t have a cow
Giselle’s friend couldn’t understand the waiter’s indifference to her complaints of having an “inek†in her soup. He must have thought it quite natural to have a “cow†in the soup, if it were in fact a beef-based concoction. Certainly nothing to fuss about -- except that the poor lady had meant to say “sinek†(fly).
Don’t have a cow (the sequel)
Andy wondered why the bus driver refused to stop after his repeated and insistent demands to be let off. Instead of saying “inecek var†(someone is disembarking), he had actually been yelling, “İnek var! İnek var!†(There’s a cow! There’s a cow!)
Bon air-petit
John assumed that the people in the airport were smiling at him because they were so pleased to hear a foreigner making overtures of politeness in Turkish, since he was excusing himself profusely while making his way through the crowded baggage claim. Mentally congratulating himself as he walked away, John didn’t realize until much later that instead of using the correct word, “affedersiniz,†he’d been wishing everyone a good appetite, saying “afiyet olsunâ€!
Don’t get fresh
“How about two?!†smiled the baker, winking and nudging his colleague after Anna had walked into the bakery accidentally asking for a “taze erkek†(fresh man) instead of “taze ekmek†(fresh bread).
Service included, servers not
Sam couldn’t get any waiters to take his order. Each time he called out to a waiter, they would look at him strangely and back away. With Sam’s dreadful accent, his “bakar misin?†(will you attend [to me]?) came out sounding more like “bekar misin?†(are you single?).
The wrong tool for the job
Fiona’s mother got very strange looks indeed when she repeatedly offered the repairman the use of her self-described top of the line, industrial quality “makat†(anus) instead of her “matkap†(drill). Needless to say, the repairman made a hasty retreat.
A fast faster
A diplomat’s wife who was having trouble acclimating to Turkish cuisine found a novel way to politely decline food at a diplomatic function by fending off approaching waiters with a carefully memorized line: “oruçluyum†(I’m fasting). Sadly, her practiced attempt at proper social etiquette fell well short of the mark as she actually told each waiter “oros...†(I’m a prostitute)!
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spiritually, mentally, or emotionally) mature (person).
Allahim I hope I don't make any mistakes like that when learning a foreign language! oh the shame! 