Although Malaysians are expected to acquire English as a second language, that doesn’t mean everyone is fluent. Here is an example of one of the many instances we have seen when signage has been misinterpreted due to improper wording.
Having poor English abilities is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s also okay to laugh at your mistakes for a good time! See this sign alerting guests not to tamper with the Christmas decorations at the Holmes Hotel in Gelang Patah, Johor for example. Like most warning signs, what the text meant to say was, “Reminder to all hotel guests, please don’t mess with the Christmas decorations. If any items are found to be broken, you will be fined RM300. Don’t come near and touch the decorations!”.
However, as seen in the photo above, the warning was horribly mistranslated to: “Reminder all guest hotel, please don’t playing and touch the decoration Christmas. If any items broken from the decoration, you will be paid RM300. Don’t come inside or touch”. Thankfully, Malaysian netizens understood the intended meaning of the sign, rather than taking it too literally. Instead of being upset about the lack of proofreading, most found the direct translation humorous.
People were particularly pleased with the fact that they would “receive RM300” for breaking the decorations, which they considered a bargain. Some internet users criticised the hotel administration for their failure to translate even a basic line into English, while others suggested they could have used ChatGPT or other AI tools to assist with the translation, or at the very least, had someone proofread it. In any case, everyone had a good laugh over it, with some even expressing a desire to visit the hotel to “claim” their RM300.
It is unclear whether Holmes Hotel has been made aware of the situation, but we hope they will amend the translation errors soon, as failing to do so could affect their reputation. What do you think about this? Did you get a good laugh out of it?
Source: Twitter
May contributed to this article.
