Here is a puzzle submitted by my colleague (thanks Mel): in describing a TV commercial a student said that the actor "floated up to heaven in a Mongolian proud". I suspect that should read "sky", rather than heaven: the French use the word "ciel" for both, but can you work out what a Mongolian proud is? There are several mistakes in the way the French word was put into the translation software - but anyway, don't these programmers (and students) know that adjectives are generally placed before the noun in English?
Answer tomorow in the comments: if no one posts it first - do feel free to reassure me that I'm not talking to myself!
As far as I can work out, the hapless student must have typed "Mongol fière" into her translation software rather than the French word for a hot air balloon which is a "Montgolfière" from the name of the French brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier who claimed to have invented the first such flying device in 1782. Garbage in, garbage out!
RépondreSupprimer