‘Cock wait here’: Council is left red-faced as contractors misspell Welsh word for ‘red’ on a road sign
- Offending sign erected next to traffic lights in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales
- Builders contracted to make it misspelled ‘red’, putting ‘gock’ instead of ‘goch’
- Welsh speakers criticised the balls-up on social media saying it was ‘one of many’
A road sign which mistakenly told motorists: ‘When light is cock, wait here’ has caused outrage among drivers in Wales.
The offending message had been erected next to traffic lights in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, and was supposed to read: ‘When red light shows, wait here.’
But bundling builders who were contracted to organise the signage misspelled the Welsh word for ‘red’ – and wrote ‘gock’ instead of ‘goch’.
The balls-up was spotted after drivers pointed out there was no letter K in the Welsh language alphabet.
And while some Welsh speakers on social media saw the funny side, some called on councils to ‘get it right’ on bilingual signs.
One wrote: ‘We don’t even have the letter K in the Welsh alphabet so it’s a bad translation to start with.’
Another said: ‘It is funny, but it does make my blood boil that the authorities can’t get it right.
The offending message (pictured) had been placed next to traffic lights in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, and was supposed to read: ‘When red light shows, wait here’ – but reads instead: ‘When light is cock, wait here’
‘It is a government requirement that they get these bilingual signs up and yet they are still getting it wrong.
‘If they can’t get it right, then what chance have we got?’
One agreed, saying the latest error was ‘one of many, adding: ‘It’s actually getting worse. Let’s not get into train announcements either.
‘My husband constantly finds errors. I always tell my husband he should get a job as a sign “proof reader” for Wales.’
Another added: ‘There isn’t even a letter K in the alphabet, which makes me think it might be deliberate. You’d only need Google Translate.’
A spokesman for Monmouthshire county council said the workmen had promised to correct the mistake.
‘It’s actually getting worse’: Complains one Welsh woman, while another points out the language has not letter K
He said: ‘We’ve looked into this and the offending sign belongs to a contractor who is carrying out work on behalf of the council.
‘The council has already been in touch with the contractor who has promised to rectify the error as soon as possible.
‘Looking at the picture the offending word on the sign is “gock”, not “cock”. The Welsh text should read “pan f’or golau yn goch arhoswch yma”.
‘It seems the word for red – coch – has been correctly mutated to goch but the final letter H has been mistaken for a K.’
It comes after officials in Snowdonia National Park were left red-faced in June this year after a mistranslation of Welsh saw tourists told it is a popular ‘sex area’.
The social media post was trying to ask if people intended to visit Ogwen Valley ‘in the near future.’
It read: ‘Ydych chi’n bwriadu ymweld ag ardal Ogwen rhyw ben?’ (are you intending to visit the Ogwen area in the near future?).
Facebook’s automatic translation service made an error when attempting to bring the question into the English language
Snowdonia National Park Authority responded online, saying: ‘Oh dear! Seems that the Facebook translate version has come up with something a bit different to the original Welsh version! Apologies for any offence caused!’
But Facebook’s translation software was apparently confused by the word rhyw – which when used as a stand alone word means sex.
Facebook’s automatic translation meant that English-speaking visitors saw ‘are you intending to visit the Ogwen area sex?’
Snowdonia National Park Authority responded online, saying: ‘Oh dear! Seems that the Facebook translate version has come up with something a bit different to the original Welsh version!
‘Apologies for any offence caused!’
Source: Read Full Article