Mark Holtom (aka Kingbeard)Sep 22, 2025

This has got to be one of the best. In Wales, UK, there is a legal requirement for road signs to be in both English and Welsh. So, in this case, the official of the Highways department emailed the English wording to the translator and, after receiving a reply, proceeded to have the sign made and installed.

Unfortunately, a few weeks later, Welsh-speaking drivers began to call up to point out that the Welsh reads..... "I am currently out of the office. Please submit any work to the translation team."

Show thread0x10f/kalle/qalle
@MarkHoltom A sign in a hospital in Helsinki in 2013. The left column has locations of the hospital in Finnish (waiting rooms etc.). As required by law, the right column has the Swedish translations... except they all read "same in Swedish" in Swedish.
Sep 22, 2025 at 5:08pmWeb
Show threadNine Oh RealSep 22, 2025

@0x10f
Had to double-check whether this posting came from you @olafurw

@MarkHoltom

Show threadÓlafur WaageSep 23, 2025
@mythlfrythtyg @0x10f @MarkHoltom that is very me coded yeah
Show thread❄️SnowyIn🇨🇦❄️Sep 23, 2025
@0x10f 🤣 😂 @MarkHoltom
Show threadTor LillqvistSep 23, 2025

@0x10f @MarkHoltom Is there btw any better source for this? It seems fairly incredible that such an obviously bogus sign would have been produced and even displayed. In Helsinki, even, where knowing Swedish is not at all uncommon.

Swedish texts in public institutions is mandatory only in bilingual municipalities. You won't find any Swedish signage in the university hospitals in Kuopio or Oulu, for instance.

Show thread0x10f/kalle/qalleSep 23, 2025
@tml @MarkHoltom Here is the source. (I found a better photo elsewhere.)
https://web.archive.org/web/20131109092943/http://www.seiska.fi/Viihdeuutiset/Kaikkien-aikojen-kylttimoka-Malmin-sairaalan-seinassa-kuva/1022661
Kaikkien aikojen kylttimoka Malmin sairaalan seinässä - kuva!

Malmin sairaalassa Helsingissä tehdään parhaillaan mittavaa laajennusremonttia.

Show threadmsaari 📚Sep 25, 2025
@0x10f @MarkHoltom So... I was curious, and about only reference I could find was Seiska, which had exactly the same photo. It's also very low-quality journalism and not trustworthy. I also found this in Reddit, where someone says that was made on purpose as an example of how the signs should look like: https://www.reddit.com/r/Suomi/comments/mzvn8y/samma_p%C3%A5_svenska/. Of course, someone is using Seiska to dispute that in the thread, but the Seiska news piece is so vague that it doesn't really proof anything. Also, it's exactly the same photo in every source. Someone making a funny sample sign sounds like a more plausible explanation.