{"id":46430,"date":"2017-09-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gengo.com\/uncategorized\/gengo-translators-funniest-strangest-projects\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T15:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T06:50:26","slug":"gengo-translators-funniest-strangest-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gengo.com\/community\/gengo-translators-funniest-strangest-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Gengo translators’ funniest and strangest projects"},"content":{"rendered":"In our last Gengo community survey, we found that one of the advantages<\/a> our translators enjoy most is having the flexibility to choose the projects they can work on. Exposure to a wide variety of topics, fields and industries is a big plus, especially to newer translators who want to find their niche and full-time translators aspiring for a more diversified expertise.\r\n\r\nTo mark International Translation Day on September 30, we asked our translators about the funniest and strangest projects they\u2019ve translated on our platform. We received a lot of interesting and hilarious-but-NSFW entries from our global community. Out of 200 anonymous responses, here are our top 12 picks:\r\n\r\n1.<\/strong> Translating stories can be an immersive experience. Several of our translators report translating descriptions of games that have an unusual storyline, take place in fantasy or supernatural worlds, and use creative and fun language full of slang, figures of speech, colloquialisms, and idioms.\r\n\r\n2.<\/strong> \u201cText for a tattoo!\u201d A Gengo translator communicated closely with a client to make sure that their tattoo came out accurately. (No one would want a typo inked on their skin for decades, right?)\r\n\r\n3.<\/strong> A kidnap note for a Ronald McDonald statue. (Need we say more?)\r\n\r\n4.<\/strong> One translator recalls translating messages back and forth for an interracial LGBT couple who eventually got married. #lovewins\r\n\r\n\"\" Image by @alixmcclurken<\/a> via Twenty20<\/a><\/em>\r\n\r\n5.<\/strong>\u00a0Warning signs that prohibit taking certain fruits and other things away from a Japanese island. (Take nothing but memories, folks!)\r\n\r\n6.<\/strong>\u00a0Product descriptions for aphrodisiacs. Customer satisfaction was a top priority for this shop owner, so the translator tapped into the more vulgar side of their vocabulary. In the end, the customer was very pleased with the result.\r\n\r\n7.<\/strong>\u00a0An argument via e-mail between a Japanese lady and her English-speaking boyfriend. (We sure hope the translation helped them patch things up!)\r\n\r\n8.<\/strong>\u00a0For one translator, a best man\u2019s speech for the wedding of his best friend stood out. It turns out the entire speech was quite moving, particularly the stories and anecdotes about their friendship the years.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n9.\u00a0<\/strong> Gengo translators have the opportunity to translate personal letters of all kinds. Another memorable one from our community was a letter from an unhappy mother who wrote to the current girlfriend of her former son-in-law. <\/span>\r\n\r\n10.<\/strong>\u00a0For one translator, irate travelers\u2019 feedback after their trips provided comic relief: \u201cI almost fell off my chair while translating!\u201d\r\n\r\n11.<\/strong>\u00a0A translator shared an anecdote about translating text for an esoteric workshop and admitted almost becoming a convert. \u201cI considered it utter nonsense but I translated it so faithfully and convincingly that I nearly believed it myself in the end.\u201d\r\n\r\n12.<\/strong>\u00a0Finally, one translator reported working on a letter from someone trying to convince their partner to get married. Though, apparently, the letter was not very convincing!\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nThanks to everyone who participated in the survey! What other funny and strange jobs and projects have you encountered so far? Share them with us in the comments!\r\n\r\nWant to become a Gengo translator?\r\n<\/strong>\r\n