When city officials in the town of Swansea in Wales wanted to alert the public to the fact that no big rigs were allowed on a particular road, they knew they had to make sure the sign was in English as well as Welsh. That’s when they contacted a translation service and asked for the translation of “No entry for heavy goods vehicles — residential site only.” Unfortunately, the email they received read: “I am not in the office at the moment — send any work to be translated.” Welsh official assumed that was the translation they asked for, so that’s what they had put on the sign. The notice went up and all seemed well — until Welsh speakers began pointing out the embarrassing error. Welsh-language magazine Golwg was promptly sent photographs of the offending sign by a number of its readers. It wasn’t long before the Swansea Council had the sign taken down and replaced by one with the correct translation. This isn’t the first time translations have caused a problem. In 2006, cyclists between Cardiff and Penarth were left confused by a bilingual road sign telling them they had problems with an “inflamed bladder.”
