Swansea introduces public cottaging areas …
I kid you not. That is what this sign says.
It’s good to write something a bit lighter about a Welsh story.
From Amlwch to Magor
This sign though is a perfect example of why translations should be done by people who can speak both languages, not by an English speaker with a dictionary. Because to any Welsh speaking reader, this sign does not say “Tow Away Zone”.
It says “Wank Away Zone”.
The best equivalent English phrase I can think of is “Tug Away Zone”. This has been double-checked by a well known translator (no disrespect Hen, but it took some believing).
Perhaps someone should put one outside the Offices of whichever organisation installed the damn things to highlight the tossers within.
[tags]swansea, swansea council, tossers, tow away zone[/tags]
As the person who took the photograph I can confirm that this is exactly what Welsh speakers read this sign as meaning.
There has been a similar photograph on the local Welsh Language Society website with a caption that translates as “There is a welcome to the city’s perverts here.”
The organisation responsible would appear to be the local police for it is their telephone number that is on the signs. I am not joking!
There are a series of signs along the Kingsway a main road in the city centre. It is close by to the local Welsh language centre and the signs have been a subject of quite considerable hilarity.
Technically the translation does also mean “Tow away Zone” but this is not what people think of when they see the words. There is, as you correctly state, another use for the word!