Sometimes you wonder who does the translating.

[draggar]

When I lived in New Hampshire (not known for its ethnic diversity - the most ethnic thing in my town was a Taco Bell for many years) a new "Authentic Mexican Restaurant" opened up a few towns over from where I lived.

Some friends of mine and I decided to check it out. While we did have some years of Spanish in high school (and I had a semester of it in college) our grasp of Español was no where mastered. The classes also taught us about Spanish culture etc. We figured it would be a real experience.

We went in and sat down and realized, quickly, that the place was far from authentic. Not a single person who worked there looked Spanish or Latin American (I didn't even hear a single word of Spanish being spoken) but the menu seemed like Americanized Mexican food. I mean, really, a Philly Cheesesteak taco?

So I'm looking at the menu and something catches my eye. I check with my friends and sure enough, it was "Chicken con pollo". For those of you who don't speak Spanish, "con pollo" means "with chicken" (a common disk is "arroz con pollo" or "rice with chicken"). The dish was called "chicken with chicken". I couldn't help but ask the waiter what exactly was in the dish.

He came over and rolled his eyes at the question. "It's chicken with rice and vegetables".

"So, it's arroz con pollo, then?"

"No, that is a completely different dish and doesn't come with chicken".

We decided to keep our silence, it seemed like he was not going to be taught a Spanish lesson even though he worked in this "authentic" Mexican restaurant.

To this day some of us still get a chuckle over it.

[MoonCat]

*snerk*

I've seen menus that read "Beef au jus with juice"

Yeah, beef in juice with juice...

[Bright_Star]

I would have said something cause I'm Puerto Rican...lol. "Chicken con Pollo"....LOL! That's the funniest thing I've heard all week....lol!

[Food Lady]

And arroz con pollo DOES have chicken. LOL Did they ask if you wanted mild or hot sauce, too?

[Frantic Freddie]

I have a friend in France who is originally Spanish & a couple of years ago she asked me to help her translate a menu from French to English & could I check her spelling?

I about snorted Tecate out my nose when I saw she'd translated "crudités" as "crudenesses"

[BookstoreEscapee]

That's really sad. I suddenly feel much better about my rather limited Spanish skills.

I'm really curious what they think pollo means.

[Kogarashi]

I told this to Hubby (fluent in Spanish) and he got a huge kick out of it. Then he reiterated something he's repeated the entire time I've known him: "This is why we don't trust Mexican restaurants north of the Red River (northern border of Texas)."

I'm really curious what they think pollo means.

My guess would be vegetables.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

You have no idea how much of a headache this phenomenon gives me. *puts ice on head*
(NB:I'm a language/history nerd)
EDIT: I'm reminded of the saying "with stuff this bad, you either laugh or cry."

[Nurian]

...I sense a disturbance in the Force. As though a thousand of my ancestors cried out at once and suddenly were silenced.

[dragon_wings]

NB:I'm a language/history nerd

Same here.

[firecat88]

...I am half-tempted to show this to my mom. Not sure if she'd laugh about it or find it highly shameful.


Seriously?! Arroz con pollo that doesn't have chicken in it? Buh...wha....*splort* Please tell me you guys didn't actually stay and eat there.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Laugh or Cry! >_>
(gotta choose one...)

[Linda]

I speak NO Spanish at all, and even I know con pollo is "with chicken"

I always giggle at this story about the Welsh roadsign translation:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7702913.stm

[draggar]

...I am half-tempted to show this to my mom. Not sure if she'd laugh about it or find it highly shameful.

Seriously?! Arroz con pollo that doesn't have chicken in it? Buh...wha....*splort* Please tell me you guys didn't actually stay and eat there.

Or she may find it both? We stayed. The poorly translated menu did lead to mediocre food. We never went back and I think the place closed down within a year.

...I sense a disturbance in the Force. As though a thousand of my ancestors cried out at once and suddenly were silenced.

On behalf of the rest of the population of New Hampshire, we're all not that bad and I do apologize.

I will admit, though, new Hampshire is the least diverse place I've ever been (yet rather open minded, oddly). In my 4 years of high school, not counting exchange students, we had ONE Latin American student (average student population was between 800 and 900). Out of the 3 Spanish teachers I had, one was Scandinavian, one was American, and the last was Italian (to his credit - he was very good and one of the most respected teachers in the school).