Love is in the air in the run up to Valentines Day, but be careful with obtaining your heartfelt romantic translations online as you could end up with a slap in the face, say language experts at Thames Translations.
According to the Hertfordshire translations agency, many people will find themselves on the receiving end of a confused or even outraged loved one by mistranslating common romantic phrases via online translation sites.
The team at Thames came across dozens of sites that could seriously hamper a partner’s efforts to romance their loved one and often without them realising it!
One site encouraged men to impress their Polish lovers with the phrase Kocham Ci?!!! Ale nie mog? sobie przypomnie? dlaczego, which literallytranslated means ‘I love you, but I can’t remind why’.
Another translated the common English phrase “The Spirit is willing but the flesh it weak” into French, which then meant “The alcohol is strong, but the meat is off!”
“Many people forget that common phrases and terms used in English simply aren’t used the same way in foreign countries and vice versa.”
The problem with automatic online translators is that they only ever provide a literal translation and can’t take in account the context, which can be disastrous for romantic exchanges,” says Simon George MD of Thames Translations.
In an effort to help ensure that Valentines Day goes as planned for the many multi-lingual couples across the country, Thames Translations haveprovided translations of ‘I love you’ at their website thames-translations.com/iloveyou , but advise that if you are planning something special, don’t leave it to a machine or website to determine your fate!”
If you are planning a particularly special moment, such as a marriage proposal, it is really worth spending the extra few pounds to have yourmessage professionally translated so you can be sure your loved one gets to hear your message in exactly the way it was intended,” says George.
For more information visit thames-translations.com or call 08700 111130
