Peanut Cakes, Anyone?
Submitted by Gabi on December 5, 2008 – 10:48 am9 Comments
I get a kick out of imported goods translations in English on their labels. You can see their native marketing department trying hard to come up with a decent convincing phrase.
This sometimes results in funky terms or concepts that will sound very corky for Americans. For instance this wonderful bottle of Romanian Chardonnay, that can be paired with many desserts, among other the popular (or not so) “Peanut Cakes” (?).
Suspecting that peanuts are native to the American Continent, the Romanian wine producer was maybe thinking that hey - in the end Americans must eat peanut cakes for dessert.
I suspect my own blog writing sounds like this example many times.
Take heart my friend, your writing only very rarely resembles such scribblings! LOL I kid you, of course… Your writing in English is quite good; better, infact, than many native English speakers I know. Oh, and don’t think the Romanian wine producers are alone, you really ought to see some of the labels coming out of Greece! Hahaha What I don’t understand is why they don’t seek out credible (native English) writers to come up with their English copy. Oh well, enjoy the wine and ignore the label. But peanut cakes?! LOL
Hehehe - thanks Sam!
I will take photos of the labels from now on and post them here. I think they are worth of attention! Some just just out of control.
Well, I think I should come up with a Peanut Cake recipe soon and wait for a recommended weather of “55 degrees (F)” to serve it.
Oh, I love it! Please do post them up as you find them. I work as an advertising copywriter, and absolutely love these kinds of translations.
+Jessie
a.k.a. The Hungry Mouse
Jessie - Thanks! I will - there are a LOT of them! We have a fun imported grocery store here where we usually go shopping.
It is already a habit to me to closely examine the labels on anything that looks interesting.
Gabi.
Love it…! I often am struck by humorous translations, earnest though they may be.
Er… is there such thing as peanut cakes? Lol!
Lost in translation! I can’t wait to see more of your discoveries!
LOL, my brother in law always comes back from Germany with hilarious tales of too literally translated restaurant menus.
Joan: Thanks! There are a ton of them. Sometimes it is simply fun to go to the local ethnic store and read through the labels.
Farina: Might be, deep in Transylvania, maybe! Hehe
Heidi: Stay tuned! Love your blog there!
Maggie: German labels are among most funniest!