October 3rd, 2018

Practical example of why you need to leave room for German localization

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Consider the following household kitchen item: The sink saddle. It is a mat that goes over the divider in a double sink.

Here’s what it says on the label:

SINK SADDLE
TAPIS D’ÉVIER
PROTECTOR DE MONTURA
SATTELFÖRMIGER SCHUTZ FÜR DAS SPÜLENZWISCHENSTÜCK

That brief Ph.D. dissertation translates as “saddle-shaped protector for the sink in-between piece.”

Not sure why they didn’t go for Spülesattel. I mean, sure, it’s not a word in the dictionary, but neither is “sink saddle”.

Today is German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) the national day of Germany, celebrated on the anniversary of the 1990 reunification of Germany.

Category
Old New Thing
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Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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