dawhite wrote:

I think there's actually more about this kid in the book:

This morning, there has been a train accident.   Brake trouble was the cause.

Seeing as they have all the different perspectives in there, I'm still waiting for the sentence that reads "oh shit I am about to be hit by a train."

Hahaha. You're right about the multiple perspectives. There's a sentence about seeing some bear footprints on a mountain, and then one about a bear suddenly appearing during a camping trip. Also several sentences about human cloning, they seem very interested in that topic.

Zorlee wrote:

Anyone else missing the male-voice, while doing book 2?
It sounds like the female-voice is just too happy, and is going to burst out laughing all the time. It´s ok if it´s one of those "blablabla スミスさん blablabla 旅行 blablabla" sentences, but it´s very weird when that super-happy voice is reading sentences about criminal cases / suicide etc.
Might just be my Ko2001-marathon pulling on me, I don´t know...

Sometimes I like her, sometimes I don't. Although sometimes I'd be telling him to shut up and other times I miss him.

Maybe my KO marathon is getting to me too.

srsly tho it's like a stab in the ear when she says "子会社"

dawhite wrote:

I just found a sentence that's intentionally funny (!)

この山には金や銀がある。世界で最も"高い"山だ。
On this mountain, there is gold and silver.  This is the most "expensive" mountain in the world.

*rimshot*

I laughed and cringed at the same time when I read that one.

１９９０年代、日本はバブルが崩壊し、金融システムも崩壊した。

In the 1990's, the bubble burst and so did the financial system.​

I literally imagine the economy bursting and the dye they use to colour the money running everywhere and ruining everyone's nice suits at the office. Now of course, no one has any money to buy new ones. Realllllly burst their バブル.

この金庫を開けるにはパスワードが必要だ。それを忘れると永久に開けられない。

This safe needs a password to open.  Once the password was forgotten, it won't open forever.​

A horrific translation at the end there.

バスケットの日本対米国の試合を見た。日本は米国に１２０対２０で負けた。
I watched a basketball game of Japan vs. USA. Japan lost by 120:20.

Or perhaps this belongs in the "Saddest Sentence In KO" thread.

I'm nearing the end of KO now. Unless there's a really brilliant one in the last 50 or so kanji, this is my pick as the funniest sentence. I'm not sure why, because it seems like it could happen in real life, but it just makes me laugh.

手紙の最後に追伸がある。「追伸、私、ひげを伸ばしました。」
I see a postscript at the end of the letter. It says “p.s. I have grown a beard.”

Also, anyone notice that there are an inordinately high number of sentences that have to do with soccer games and soccer players? There are soccer players getting hurt, winning the game, colliding with their teammates, even announcing their candidacy for elections and winning.

Last edited by Blank (2009 October 13, 10:41 pm)

料理用の塩は食塩だ。しかし、普通は単に塩と呼ぶ。
Cooking salt is the same as table salt but we normally call it mealy salt.

uh... anyone for some mealy salt?

KO english translations are simply horrible. It is obvious it is done by a few different people, which is way you sometimes get things like (Lit:,,,,) in some sentences, and not in others.

There was even a (?) after a word, as if they marked it to check it later and forgot.

They should just spring to hire a native proofreader.

Or even better, unnatural-but-true-to-the-Japanese. Much better than try-to-say-it-like-a-native-and-have-it-sound-terrible.

The translations aren't anywhere near native like sounding but tbh they get the point across so that the sentence can be fully understood. I've only encountered a few where even the Engrish puzzled me. Such as that mealy salt and one about 10 people going in the draw to win a dvd player... I even emailed them about it.

日本では、妻は夫に従うとうい考え方がまだ残っている。
In Japan, there is still a concept remaining, which is that a wife must obey her husband.

世界中へようこそ！

Last edited by mezbup (2009 October 18, 5:34 pm)

Amadan wrote:

mezbup wrote:

料理用の塩は食塩だ。しかし、普通は単に塩と呼ぶ。
Cooking salt is the same as table salt but we normally call it mealy salt.

Could it be "merely" misspell? The pronunciation would be almost the same...
(Stab in a dark - I don't have the book, but this thread is hilarious)

Edit: Also, 単に wasn't translated otherwise.

You make a good point. If you consider the word 食塩 made up of "food/meal + salt" you could see how they might have just guessed and took a stab in the dark at "mealy salt". Perhaps we should email them and ask them what on earth they were thinking that day?