Travelling overseas, outside the bounds of native English speakers provides a wealth of cases of badly written and badly translated signs. From hotels, to bars and restaurants the world over, there is a litany such examples.
Hotels produce literature to encourage you stay with them and take full advantage of their hospitality. The problem comes when someone with little or no English tries to address the English speaking market and the message fails. This makes the hotel look bad even if its offerings are of the highest standards.
Similarly, bars and restaurants produce menus and advertise functions to bring in their custom. These can also provide a baffling array of offers that can be confusing to even the most seasoned traveller. Often menus will feature local specialities whose translated description will put off the hardiest gastronome simply by misusing English words or in many cases inventing completely new ones!
Many of the services available to holidaymakers and business travellers alike can also be advertised in the most confusing language often losing the interest of potential customers. It does also provide a source of much amusement to the English-speaking traveller often creating embarrassment for the establishment responsible.
From well-presented and well-written English, it is much easier to go on and produce equally clear details in other language. English becomes the Lingua Franca from which other translations become so much more meaningful to those to whom it is a second language and where they have no knowledge of their hosts’ native tongue.
