Lost in translation
Lost in translation
It’s chilly when those trucks go by
Latest entry in the Israeli tradition of incomprehensible road signs
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‘Coat on. Trucks crossing’ (photo credit: LMH)
A new warning sign freshly deployed at Jerusalem’s old railway station is the latest addition to the venerable Israeli tradition of skewed English translations of Hebrew street furniture.
Helpfully erected to alert passers-by to the reconstruction work going on at the Old TRain Station Compound, the sign declares in Hebrew, “Zehirut, Masa’iyot hotzot,” which translates as “Caution, trucks crossing.” Or ought to.
In this case, it has been translated as “Coat on, trucks crossing” — also good advice, no doubt, in these still sometimes cool days of spring.
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