Ambulance... Ambiwlans - Has dumbing down gone too far?

Ambulance... Ambiwlans - Has dumbing down gone too far?

Author
Discussion

evenflow

8,784 posts

281 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
That's nothing. The other day I saw this sign:



The sign writer should be immediately sacked. He's blatently written most of it in Klingon. It's dumbing down I tell you, this country is going to the dogs!!!!!!!11111111111111

Horse_Apple

3,795 posts

241 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
jamoor said:
james_tigerwoods said:
In Scun-thorpe - on the M180? On dealer plates.

And I apologise that my linguistic skills don't extend to Welsh.
its probbably no longer an ambulance and has been sold to the trade.
What's Welsh for Kebab Van? biggrin

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,287 posts

196 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
limpsfield said:
This is fking hilarious.

James - on some of the roads in Wales they have ARAF written, the way that England has SLOW written. So if you didn't know what this meant, you could view it as the road to somewhere called Araf.

But based on what you have posted you would be too busy out of your car asking directions from Cardiff to Caerdydd..
I've already acknowledged that I've made an honest mistake in this - can we let it die?? cry

Incidentally, if I was going to somewhere with an alternate language, I'd read up on the foreign signs - Really, I'm a bit daft, but give me some credit.

Edited by james_tigerwoods on Wednesday 9th April 10:50

evenflow

8,784 posts

281 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Aw come on. This is gold.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Tony*T3 said:
Welsh was a moderatly simple language so many 'new' words are bdisations of English words. However, it should be remembered that so much English is a bdisation of many languages, mostly from invading peoples from ancient history or from conquering other lands in Victorian times......
Yes, but at least we don't consciously import a foreign word, pronounce it with an English accent and then spell it phonetically. Acwariwm, FFS.

(I know, no 'q' in the Welsh alphabet, and no x, hence tacsi, but it's really just bloody mindedness.)

Eric Mc

121,782 posts

264 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
It's the same in Scots and Irish Gaelic.

That Royal Mail bus is a perfect example. "Bus a Phoist" obviously means "Post Bus". In Irish Gaelic it would be "Bus an Phost" - very similar - only they don't have post buses in Ireland as far as I know.

emicem - correct - "ambulo" means "I Walk".

limpsfield

5,871 posts

252 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
I've seen cars in Ireland that have lights on top that are obviously looking after something in their custody - but you would think the dozy bog trotters would have learnt to spell "Guarder" properly. And why advertise it in the first place??? FFS.!!11

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,287 posts

196 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Just to keep this in the spirit that everyone else is taking this in:

How do I get to Acwariwm? Is it just off the Severn bridge?

getmecoat

Tony*T3

20,911 posts

246 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Whats most annoying (me being Welsh so I can say this) is the stupid need for signs in welsh and English just to placate a few people that can all read English anyway.

It was bad enough when they just replaced all the perfectly good signs with ones in both Wlesh and English. Now though, they need double the amount of those overhead electric signs so that stuff can be said in both languages. Its really NOT NEEDED. English is the first language of Wales after all.

The cost of installing double the amount of the signs must be rediculous. Worse still, you get warned of a danger in Welsh on the first sign, then half a mile down the road it will be in English. Surely, as English is the predominant language of those road users, it should be in English, first?

another issue is that many place names in English and Welsh are spelt either the same, or virtually identically. So why the need to say it twice on one sign post? Such a watse. Killing the planet it is, isnt it?

Tony*T3

20,911 posts

246 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
otolith said:
Tony*T3 said:
Welsh was a moderatly simple language so many 'new' words are bdisations of English words. However, it should be remembered that so much English is a bdisation of many languages, mostly from invading peoples from ancient history or from conquering other lands in Victorian times......
Yes, but at least we don't consciously import a foreign word, pronounce it with an English accent and then spell it phonetically. Acwariwm, FFS.

(I know, no 'q' in the Welsh alphabet, and no x, hence tacsi, but it's really just bloody mindedness.)
Couldnt disagree with you there.

oobster

7,065 posts

210 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all


Edited by oobster on Wednesday 9th April 11:04

ali_kat

31,988 posts

220 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
james_tigerwoods said:
Incidentally, if I was going to somewhere with an alternate language, I'd read up on the foreign signs - Really, I'm a bit daft, but give me some credit.
Yes, but would you realise that this is needed going to Wales? I mean, it isn't in Scotland wink

wobert

5,010 posts

221 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Tony*T3 said:
Whats most annoying (me being Welsh so I can say this) is the stupid need for signs in welsh and English just to placate a few people that can all read English anyway.

It was bad enough when they just replaced all the perfectly good signs with ones in both Wlesh and English. Now though, they need double the amount of those overhead electric signs so that stuff can be said in both languages. Its really NOT NEEDED. English is the first language of Wales after all.

The cost of installing double the amount of the signs must be rediculous. Worse still, you get warned of a danger in Welsh on the first sign, then half a mile down the road it will be in English. Surely, as English is the predominant language of those road users, it should be in English, first?

another issue is that many place names in English and Welsh are spelt either the same, or virtually identically. So why the need to say it twice on one sign post? Such a watse. Killing the planet it is, isnt it?
As an Englishman who has lived in Wales for the last 10 years I can see some sense in your comments.

The only issue I have is the utter inconsistency in which language is placed first on the signage.

Near where I live (NE wales) the signs are predominantly Englisg first, then Welsh. As you head further west it becomes Welsh first then English.

My issue, is a sign should be quick to comprehend, diverting you eyes to a sign to figure out what it says should be a quick process, by having no set standard as to which language takes precedent is dangerous in the least!

gopher

5,160 posts

258 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Tony*T3 said:
Whats most annoying (me being Welsh so I can say this) is the stupid need for signs in welsh and English just to placate a few people that can all read English anyway.

It was bad enough when they just replaced all the perfectly good signs with ones in both Wlesh and English. Now though, they need double the amount of those overhead electric signs so that stuff can be said in both languages. Its really NOT NEEDED. English is the first language of Wales after all.

The cost of installing double the amount of the signs must be rediculous. Worse still, you get warned of a danger in Welsh on the first sign, then half a mile down the road it will be in English. Surely, as English is the predominant language of those road users, it should be in English, first?

another issue is that many place names in English and Welsh are spelt either the same, or virtually identically. So why the need to say it twice on one sign post? Such a watse. Killing the planet it is, isnt it?
When I was commuting along the M4 every day the big digital signs they erected were very useful in telling me that there was congestion ahead and placed just before an alternative route exit - until they decided that the first sign would display Welsh only and the second sign (after my alternative route exit) would display English only. Ok so I learnt what congestion ahead looked like in Welsh but that first time I spent over an hour in a queue I shouldn't have been in.

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,287 posts

196 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
ali_kat said:
james_tigerwoods said:
Incidentally, if I was going to somewhere with an alternate language, I'd read up on the foreign signs - Really, I'm a bit daft, but give me some credit.
Yes, but would you realise that this is needed going to Wales? I mean, it isn't in Scotland wink
Ok, I'll bite.

Yes, I would - I am aware that signs are written in Welsh and would read up appropriately as needed - likewise if I was in (Southern) Ireland....

Unless I was going to Rome or Paris, in which case I'd ignore all road signs and just drive like I'm possessed - like the rest of them.

V8S

8,582 posts

236 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
Apparently Araf is pronounced Avva.

There's a bit of useless information for you, and possibly wrong.

wobert

5,010 posts

221 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
V8S said:
Apparently Araf is pronounced Avva.

There's a bit of useless information for you, and possibly wrong.
"f"s are pronounced as "v"s

spidermanUK

808 posts

228 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
james_tigerwoods said:
- can we let it die?? cry
Now you really are having a laugh!rofl

You've brightened a lot of people's day

petrolhead76

1,597 posts

215 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all
james_tigerwoods said:
limpsfield]quote said:
I've already acknowledged that I've made an honest mistake in this - can we let it die?? cry
Edited by james_tigerwoods on Wednesday 9th April 10:50
I cannot stop laughing at how dumb the original post looks - I'm going to have to circulate this one around the office - a first for me !!!!!!!!!!

rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl

Edited by petrolhead76 on Wednesday 9th April 11:30

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,287 posts

196 months

Wednesday 9th April 2008
quotequote all


On the plus side, I can remain in relative anonymity...

getmecoat

Edited by james_tigerwoods on Wednesday 9th April 11:39