Top 10 translation blunders

In the latest issue of the Dutch magazine ‘Jackie,’ an article referred to singer Rihanna with a combination of racist and sexist slurs. The article, with the exception of the most offensive words, was written in Dutch, and the magazine claimed it did not fully understand the meaning of those words before publishing them. This editor has apologized and resigned over the incident. This case is a good reminder to be careful when using other words that English has borrowed from foreign languages.

Honorable mention elsewhere in the world: As mentioned in the top intercultural blunders of 2011, Vogue Italia also tried to blame mistranslation for inappropriately described “slave” earrings, but the offending word was also found in the original text.