WHEN using any kind of translation helper—dictionary, Babel Fish or Google Translate—remember that if you don’t know the target language, you should always have a native speaker take a look at the final product. Otherwise, your results might be as flamboyantly incompetent as those in this shop window, which I passed not long ago in midtown Manhattan. 

To attract foreign tourists, the store’s owners have tried to translate “Welcome” into a variety of languages. But in almost every case, they chose something inapt. Here they are, starting at the top left:

Welcome (English):  OK, this is right.

Empfang (German):  Nope. This is “welcome” in the sense of a reception, like “they received a fine welcome,” or the reception area in a hotel. It can’t be used to greet people. That would be Willkommen.

accueil (French):  Nope. This means “reception” or “greeting”. They want bienvenue.

boas-vindas (Portuguese):  Nope. Boas-vindas is a noun used the phrase dar as…Continue reading

via Johnson http://www.economist.com/node/21579998?fsrc=rss