History Main / TranslationYes

While we commonly expect short phrases in one language to be equally short in another, sometimes short phrases are translated into surprisingly long ones: however, many shows parody this completely by having a single word become a long phrase in English, or a ridiculously long phrase to a single English word, often the word 'Yes'.

* Inverted in the title sequence of ''Film/BrainCandy'': Mark [=McKinney=] makes a long, poetic, nihilistic speech to his therapist, in German with English subtitles. The therapist tells him his doesn't understand German. [=McKinney=] replies, "scheisse," which is subtitled, "The nipples of Mother Hope have run dry."

This is mild TruthInTelevision, which is usually due to a language not having a precisely equivalent term for something, so the "translation" is actually more of a definition. An example is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang Zugzwang]] which means "a situation [in a game, especially TabletopGame/{{Chess}}] where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move" (from Website/TheOtherWiki).[[note]]Technically, the word's literal translation (in German) is simply "compulsion to move".[[/note]] Another example is (translating to Latin) ''immódica medicamenti stupefactīvi iniéctio'' or "excessive injection of medicinal chemicals", though you probably call it an "overdose". This can also happen not because the language lacks a certain word, but because a non-fluent speaker doesn't know it and so is forced to talk around it, such as describing a bank as "the building where they keep money" (in linguistics that kind of BuffySpeak is called "circumlocution"). And then, of course, there are phrases which are short on the surface but who's referents require knowledge of some sort of cultural InJoke or other bit of background context -- for instance, GrammarNazi[[labelnote:*]]Which requires you to understand who the Nazis were and why using that term to refer to someone is an insult[[/labelnote]] and UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome[[labelnote:*]]Which assumes at least a surface level of knowledge of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norrmalmstorg_robbery Stockholm bank robbery]] where the captives in a hostage situation allegedly developed a rapport with their captors against the police who were trying to rescue them[[/labelnote]].

This is mild TruthInTelevision, which is usually due to a language not having a precisely equivalent term for something, so the "translation" is actually more of a definition. An example is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang Zugzwang]] which means "a situation [in a game, especially TabletopGame/{{Chess}}] where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move" (from Website/TheOtherWiki).[[note]]Technically, the word's literal translation (in German) is simply "compulsion to move".[[/note]] Another example is (translating to Latin) ''immódica medicamenti stupefactīvi iniéctio'' or "excessive injection of medicinal chemicals", though you probably call it an "overdose". This can also happen not because the language lacks a certain word, but because a non-fluent speaker doesn't know it and so is forced to talk around it, such as describing a bank as "the building where they keep money" (in linguistics that kind of BuffySpeak is called "circumlocution"). And then, of course, there are phrases which are short on the surface but who's referents require knowledge of some sort of cultural InJoke or other bit of background context -- for instance, GrammarNazi[[labelnote:*]]Which requires you to understand who the Nazis were and why using that term to refer to someone is an insult[[/labelnote]] and StockholmSyndrome[[labelnote:*]]Which assumes at least a surface level of knowledge of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norrmalmstorg_robbery Stockholm bank robbery]] where the captives in a hostage situation allegedly developed a rapport with their captors against the police who were trying to rescue them[[/labelnote]].

This is mild TruthInTelevision, which is usually due to a language not having a precisely equivalent term for something, so the "translation" is actually more of a definition. An example is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang Zugzwang]] which means "a situation [in a game, especially TabletopGame/{{Chess}}] where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move" (from Website/TheOtherWiki).[[note]]Technically, the word's literal translation (in German) is simply "compulsion to move".[[/note]] Another example is (translating to Latin) ''immódica medicamenti stupefactīvi iniéctio'' or "excessive injection of medicinal chemicals", though you probably call it an "overdose". This can also happen not because the language lacks a certain word, but because a non-fluent speaker doesn't know it and so is forced to talk around it, such as describing a bank as "the building where they keep money" (in linguistics that kind of BuffySpeak is called "circumlocution").

** The word "kijetesantakalu" usually means "raccoon". [[note]]It can also refer to other procynoids, as well as musteloids[[/note]] It's a transliteration of the Finnish compound word "kierteishäntäkarhu", which means "spiral-tailed bear". [[note]]The acutal Finnish word for "raccoon" is "pesukarhu", meaning "washing bear"[[/note]] It was originally an April Fool's joke by its creator Sonja Lang, though it was listed as an official word in 'The Toki Pona Dictionary'.

** The word "kijetesantakalu" usually means "raccoon". [[note]]It can also refer to other procynoids, as well as musteloids[[/note]] It was originally an April Fool's joke by its creator Sonja Lang, though it was listed as an official word in 'The Toki Pona Dictionary'.

* There's a Yiddish word "farpotshket", which basically means "completely fucked up due to repeated failed attempts to fix (the thing in question). The closest English equivalent would probably be the acronym fubar (standing for "fucked up beyond all recognition"), although that doesn't cover the "failed attempts to fix" part.

** ''Literature/EqualRites'' features the word "p'ch'zarni'chiwkov" used by the small tribe of the K'turni, which means: "The nasty little sound of a sword being unsheathed right behind one at just the point when one thought one had disposed of one's enemies", as well as the Cumhoolie word "squernt", which means "the feeling upon finding that the previous occupant of the privy has used all the paper".

** In ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', the Trob equivalent of the word "remarkable" is "a thing which may happen but once in the usable lifetime of a canoe hollowed dilligently by axe and fire from the tallest diamondwood tree that grows in the noted diamondwood forests on the lower slopes of Mount Awayawa, home of the firegods or so it is said". When Rincewind tries to swear at Twoflower in Trob, the only thing he can think of is "You little (such as one who, while wearing a copper nosering, stands in a footbath atop mount Raruaruaha during a heavy thunderstorm and shouts that Alohura, Goddess of Lightning, has the facial features of a diseased uloruaha root)!"

* ''Advertising/DairyQueenLips'': In the ad with Phil the alien, the Dairy Queen Lips ask Phil if he thinks the milkshake he just drank is the "galaxy's greatest". Phil responds with a lengthy growl followed by disintegrating into gloop. The lips say that's Phil's way of saying "yes".

* The Navajo language doesn't have any loanwords; instead, they derive words for new concepts from already existing ones. As a result, in Navajo, "tank" would be ''chidi naa naʼi bee ʼeldǫǫh tsoh, bikaaʼ dah naazniligi'', whitch literally means "vehicle that crawls around, by means of which big explosions are made, and that one sits on at an elevation"

* ''Film/SleepingDogs'': Smith asks two Māori men, only one of which speaks English, if he may rent an island. The two speak [[RealityHasNoSubtitles untranslated]] for a good 40 seconds before the younger one says: "The old man said it's okay."

* Franchise/{{Lobo}}'s name means "one who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it." [[LampshadeHanging More than one character]] has thought it meant "wolf" like one would expect. It should perhaps be pointed out that [[FridgeBrilliance these are not mutually exclusive]].

** In Irish Gaelic, if you are asked "Ar mhaith leat x?" (Do you like x?), one would respond either "Is maith liom" ("I like") or "Nior maith liom" ("I do not like"). Hence why you often hear Irish people saying things like "to be sure" and "so it is".
** In Chinese, the closest thing they have is 是 "shi" which means "It is" [[note]]They also have "對 "Dui" which means "Correct"[[/note]] and 不是 "Bu Shi" meaning "It is not." Otherwise they just put 不 "bu" in front of the verb like they do in Gaelic. This is the cause of the infamous RecursiveTranslation that rendered Darth Vader's BigNo from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' as "do not want" in ''WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest''. AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle.

* In Ithkuil, virtually ''every'' sentence or phrase seems to be short, and becomes much longer in translation. For example, a sentence made of 5 characters in Ithkuil means "On the contrary, I think it may turn out that this rugged mountain range trails off at some point." Its rendering in phonetic script is "Tram-mļöi hhâsmařpţuktôx".

* Parodied in a ''{{Creator/Gotlib}}'' strip [[https://www.lemonde.fr/mmpub/edt/zip/2016/12/05/151528827-05a24a1211ce5adceed5337c8c30f7431bbee6a8//assets/images/content/02-doublage-01-1024.jpg about dubbing]], explaining that a very long sentence in one language can translate to a very short one and vice versa (in this case, a man at a restaurant orders "Zklowtchug Propoko Matinkeljournalflotcknovschmovkapop wrtchukolpski" ("goose"), and for dessert "awoh" ("a chocolate cake covered with whipped cream and stuffed [[ForeignQueasine with green olives]]"). The dub team's solution is to have the man explain what he's going to order for dessert after the main course, and finish with "yup!".
* ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': Groot's entire language functions as a [[ExaggeratedTrope particularly extreme]] form of this. Every single thing he says, from "hello" to [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1b/dc/2c/1bdc2c2c2a66133022a651ff85ce8f13.jpg a lengthy poetic speech about how much he loves humanity]] comes out as simply "I am Groot". Somehow his friends are able to learn to understand this language and converse with him normally.

* At the start of episode 9 of ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', a scene from the Spanish dub is shown and a particularly long quote of Bakura's is subbed simply as "Yes". In case you're wondering, the phrase is ''Tienes algo que yo deseo, Yugi, y pienso quitártelo'' (You have something that I want, Yugi, and I plan to take it from you.)

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13295287/30/Snips-and-Scars Snips and Scars]]'' Sirius in dog form barks once and Luna's Quick Quotes Quill Fitzherbert starts scribbling.
-->'''Ron:''' Fitzherbert understands Dog?\\
'''Luna:''' Fitzherbert understands any language that potentially has news. 'Mr. Snuffles would like to say that he feels that Sirius Black is perhaps misunderstood, as he has heard nothing about him getting a trial.' That would be good to look into. 'Mr. Snuffles would also like to go on the record to declare that he is a good boy.'\\
'''Ron:''' That's a lot in one ''borf''.\\
'''Luna:''' Dog is a very concise language.

* Inverted in the ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'' parody of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', where a six-or-so character inscription above a door turns out to be a really long riddle.
-->'''Leg 'O Lamb:''' It said all that?\\
'''Randolf:''' It's a highly efficient tongue. You can fit a whole book on a napkin.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'': Muk's translations of Luk's whimpering are usually longer than the sounds Luk makes. But taking the cake is when Luk makes one, short whimper, which Muk translates as: "Oh, the shame of the polar bear who fears the water! No wonder we are shunned by our fellow bear. Woe is us!"

* When Wayne and Cassandra are talking in Cantonese in ''Film/WaynesWorld'', their spoken bits get shorter as the accompanying subtitles [[SerialEscalation get continuously longer]]. Right before the end, [[ExaggeratedTrope they have to stop talking]] [[MediumAwareness to let the subtitles catch up]].
* In ''Film/LostInTranslation'', the director gives Bill Murray's character long, rambling instructions in Japanese, which the studio translator shortens considerably. Murray notices, asking, "Is that everything? It seemed like he said quite a bit more than that."
--> '''The Director: '''(In Japanese, to Bob) Mr. Bob. You are sitting quietly in your study. And then there is a bottle of Suntory whisky on top of the table. You understand, right? With wholehearted feeling, slowly, look at the camera, tenderly, and as if you are meeting old friends, say the words. As if you are Bogie in Casablanca, saying, "Here's looking at you, kid,"—Suntory time!
--> '''The Interpreter: '''(In English, to Bob) He wants you to turn, look in camera, okay?
* ''Film/KrippendorfsTribe'' has a scene where the titular [[spoiler:fake]] tribe's chief [[spoiler:(the titular Krippendorf, the researcher who has made up this tribe, in disguise)]] is on a talk show with Krippendorf's wife. The host asks him what he thinks of America, and he makes three syllables, which translate somewhat longer. The host is bewildered that it would be the case, but the almost-girlfriend says the tribe's language is succinct.
* ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' does it as part of its GagDub. There are a few parts where the actor's mouths move for a very long time, but the dub says something really short.
-->'''Guest to the Dojo:''' "Who is that student over there?"\\
'''Disciple:''' <six seconds of mouth movement> "I don't know."
* A variant shows up in ''Film/TheCourtJester'', with sign language. Creator/DannyKaye pays very close attention to a drawn-out and complicated series of signs, only to explain to the interrogating soldier, "She says no." It's promptly lampshaded:
-->'''Captain:''' What took her so long?!\\
'''Kaye:''' Stutters.
* Creator/CharlieChaplin did this twice in his 1940 film ''Film/TheGreatDictator''.
** One example uses dictation instead of translation -- his Hitler parody, Adenoid Hynkel, would say a long sentence, and his secretary would transcribe it in a couple keystrokes. Another sentence, and again a couple keystrokes. A single word, and suddenly the secretary is typing something that might be the original manuscript of ''War and Peace''.
** Earlier in the movie, Hynkel is delivering a speech, commented on by an English speaking narrator. Some passages are translated word by word (like "liberty is abolished"), while others -- like Hynkel's rambling about the beauty of the Tomanian women -- are paraphrased with a lot of details. Then, one very long passage of Hynkel screaming, shaking his fists and growling is paraphrased only as: "His excellency has just referred to the Jewish population."

* Inverted in ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator''. Lex asks Sebastian how to say "Scared shitless," in Italian. His response: "Non vedo l'ora di uscire da questa piramide con te, perché mi sto cagando adosso." Which translates to "I can't wait to get out of this pyramid with you, because I'm shitting myself."
* In the 2003 Universal Studios version of ''Film/PeterPan'', Hook asks the captive Tiger Lily if she knows where Peter is. Her response is to hurl a stream of insults at him in her native tongue and finish by spitting at his feet. Smee then translates: "She says, 'Sorry, but no.'"
* From ''Film/NightAtTheMuseumBattleOfTheSmithsonian''
-->'''Kahmunrah:''' They didn't call me Kahmunrah the Trustworthy for nothing, all right? They ''didn't'' call me Kahmunrah the Trustworthy! They called me Kahmunrah the Bloodthirsty who kills whoever doesn't give Kahmunrah exactly what he wants in the moment that he wants it, which is ''right now'' when I had also better get the combination and the tablet!\\
'''Larry:''' That's what they called you?\\
'''Kahmunrah:''' It was shorter in Egyptian.

* Played straight in ''Film/{{Meteor}}'' (1979). A Russian scientist is meeting with a U.S. GeneralRipper to begin politically sensitive negotiations to aim nuclear missiles at the oncoming DeathFromAbove. Each side has their "English voice" and "Russian voice", both speaking at the same time to avoid accusations of duplicity. Eventually Creator/SeanConnery gets tired of the babble and just has them speaking English with the pretty female Russian translating -- at the end the general turns to his Russian voice and demands, "Is that what I said?" The translator just says, "Yes."
* Early in ''Film/SevenSamurai'', one of the peasants expresses his uncertainty about what Kambei is planning with a fairly long sentence. The subtitle boils it down to, "I'm confused."

* Dr. Evil gives a brief one in ''Film/AustinPowers'', when he's telling Scott to keep quiet. After making a several second long mockery of what is possibly supposed to be Chinese, he ends with, "subtitle: Zip it."
* In ''Film/ThePaintedVeil'', Walter Fane (a British doctor in China), with his government-assigned translator Col. Yu, goes to a local warlord to request his cooperation in fighting a cholera epidemic. The warlord responds with an angry tirade:
--> '''Warlord''': [in Chinese] Is he finished? [Yu nods] I won't sacrifice my men to that cholera mess. Forget it! When people die, it's destiny! I'll have nothing to do with it! [pointing from Yu to Fane] You, get him out of here!
--> '''Colonel Yu''': [deadpan, in English] He said no.

* In Soviet SF ''Moscow-Cassiopeia'' the developers demonstrate a "[[UniversalTranslator meaning catcher]]". First it translates a dog's whine as "Put this thing away from me! Let me down! I'd rather have a bone." Then a long speech of a foreign scientist becomes "Excellent."

* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': Judging by the translations in-text, almost everything Sunny says carries a lot of meaning per sound. Complete sentences aren't more than two syllables long until she starts learning a little English in the later books, and she seems to get a lot more across with her babytalk.
* The baboon, Khufu in ''Literature/KaneChronicles'' uses this a lot. His speech consists of simple baboon noises like grunts and barks. Sadie once lampshades how useful it would be if she could take all her classes in baboon.
-->Khufu looked up from his Jell-O.\\
“Agh!” He put three slimy grapes on the table.\\
“Exactly,” Bast agreed. “As Khufu says, the three sections of the book represent the three aspects of Ra—morning, noon, and night. That scroll there is the spell of Khnum. You’ll need to find the other two now.” How Khufu fit all of that into a single grunt, I didn’t know; but I wished I could take all my classes from baboon teachers. I’d have middle school and high school finished in a week.

* In ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', Toth, a [[TheVoiceless mute]] GentleGiant, can communicate elaborately with Durnik using nothing more than a vague gesture or two. [[spoiler: As it turns out, the sign language is only a pretense: the real communication is via a form of telepathy.]]

* ''Literature/DaveBarrySleptHere'':
** A "convenient interpreter" helps Columbus introduce himself to the Native Americans:
--->'''Columbus:''' You guys are Indians, right?\\
'''Tribal Chief:''' K'ham anonoda jawe. ("No. We came over from Asia about twenty thousand years ago via the Land Bridge.")
** Creator/DaveBarry also likes to claim that German is like this; the German translation of "Go Brits!" is "Wannfahrtdersugab ein Umwievieluhrkommteran!" Another time he claims that the German word for "subway" is "Goenundergroundenpayenfairenandridearoundintrainen".

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' Umbridge's speech on the first day of term is in English, it's just that it is incredibly long-winded leaving Harry, Ron and many other students clueless to its meaning. Hermione, of course, doesn't succumb to AttentionDeficitOohShiny during Umbridge's boring, long-winded speech. She has to answer her own 'pop quiz' to Ron and Harry about two representative lines therefrom, and does it in this way: "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

* ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}'' has Qwghlmian, a language so concise that "Gxnn bhldh sqrd m!" means "I was at the pub, asking for a job as a rat hunter, and my neighbor's dog had rabies". Or, depending on the dialect, it could also mean "You look beautiful", or maybe [[OverlyLongGag "While I was at the mill to file a complaint for a sack with a weak seam that ripped apart on Thursday, the owner's way of speaking made me understand that Mary's grand-aunt, an old single woman with a questionable reputation when she was younger, had a fungal infection in her toenails"]].
* Also shows up in ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle'', where a character sends off a letter composed of 40,000 Qwghlmian runes to be translated and receives a 400,000-words text in return.

* ''Literature/AgatonSax'': The two languages Cryptic and Brosnian represent the two versions of this trope, the former using just a few words to say a whole lot and the latter using very many words to say things like "Yes."

* A ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}} Series 2000'' book called ''Brain Juice'' has InsufferableGenius aliens as the antagonists. When the human characters ask how they're [[AliensSpeakingEnglish speaking English]], the haughty aliens explain that they learned it in an hour, and that in ''their'' language, saying "hello" requires 400 words.
* ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'': The gnomes of Krynn speak Common, but their names for people, places, and things are absurdly long and tend to be interrupted. Sometimes the interruption becomes the new name. Hence, Mount Nevermind. Inspired by the human race's gift for brevity, they began to shorten their proverbs (usually long enough to require several hours to quote one) to much shorter form, such as "A gear" or "hydrodynamics." This practice is said to bring tears of joy to the gnomish elders, awestruck by such skill in verbal shortform.
* The TranslatorMicrobes in ''Literature/IllegalAliens'' by Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio seem to have this as a built in function. When humans ask the Alien Engineer questions about his ship, his lengthy and highly detailed answers all tend to get translated as "yellow paint makes it go faster" or "you push the button and it starts". The Engineer in question is highly impressed as he assumes human language is so nuanced that his dissertation on hyperspace physics can be condensed into a short phrase.
* In book three of ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'', William Laurence finds himself on the receiving end of this after some feral dragons that followed his dragon down from the mountains steal some imperial cattle just outside of Istanbul, not understanding the concept of property or how they are to behave so close to the capital.
-->''...to Laurence's great relief, the [[DragonRider captain]] in the lead lifted his speaking-trumpet to his mouth to bellow at them, at some length. "He says to land," [[{{Omniglot}} Tharkay]] translated, with improbable brevity; at Laurence's frowning look he added, "and he calls us a great many impolite names; [[DeadpanSnarker do you wish them all translated]]?"''
* In ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'' by Creator/RobertAHeinlein we are told that the Free Traders can state a relationship such as "my maternal foster half-stepuncle by marriage, once removed and now deceased" in one word, which means that relationship and no other.
* ''Literature/StarBores'' has the minor alien Suburbia's speech rendered as a series of circular symbols. The first of his two lines, a greeting to Jello Knight Bing-Bong Gin, is translated in a footnote as "You hairy Jello nonce." Bing-Bong Gin offers to buy his Podracer, to which he replies with an entire paragraph, translated in the footnotes as "No." Interestingly, each letter of Suburbia's speech does correspond to one English letter, so by starting with the letters from the accurately-translated first line, you can find out what Suburbia ''really'' thought of Bing-Bong.

* In Creator/CraigShawGardner's ''Bride of the Slime Monster'' Roger ends up in a foreign film universe where the inhabitants speak gibberish. At one point the woman he's following says "Snucksen vorden merkna valarie" and the subtitle reads:
-->I am glad you are so happy. However, we must see my sister before dark. She is expecting us, after all, and the distance, while not great, can be tiring, especially if you have to walk into the wind.
* ''Who Stole the News?'', a non-fiction book on foreign correspondence reporting, relates how a reporter was interviewing a Vietnamese woman whose village had been destroyed in an attack. She gives a detailed and tearful account in her own language, miming thrown grenades, explosions, people dying... until the reporter interrupts to ask his translator what she's saying. The response? "[[CaptainObvious She is unhappy.]]"

* From "That Share of Glory" by CM Kornbluth: Alen is translating between two traders who do not have a common language.
-->"Well," said Garthkint, "perhaps I can take a couple of your gauds. For some youngster who wishes a cheap ring."\\
"He's getting to it," Alen told the trader.\\
"High time," grunted blackbeard.\\
"The trader asks me to inform you," said Alen, switching back to Lyran, "that he is unable to sell in lots smaller than five hundred gems."\\
"A compact language, Cephean," said Garthkint, narrowing his eyes.\\
"Is it not?" Alen blandly agreed.
* ''Literature/{{Somewhither}}'': The Ursprache includes a lot of brief words for [[LanguageEqualsThought specific, complex types of crimes and torture]]. For example, "hamhattapars'h" means "a family murder-suicide where a mother kills all her children starting with the youngest, and then herself, on a holy day".
* One ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' novel says that 'Gallifrey' (the name of the Doctor's homeworld) translates to 'They that walk in the shadows'. Which is not as bad as some other examples, but is still something of a mouthful.
* In ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'', the Second Foundation has advanced so much in the science of psychology that they have made their own language, which allows them to "say" long sentences and torrents of information just by using a few gestures. For example, a starting conversation about a candidate's suitability to become one of the leaders can be reduced to rising a finger and smiling.
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'':
** The people of the Horneater Peaks have names [[OverlyLongName that are literally poems]] that unsurprisingly don't translate well, so they mostly use one or two word translations. The most prevalent Horneater character is named Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor, a poetic description of a rock his father found on the day he was born; he goes by Rock. This causes a bit of confusion when he introduces his family, as one of his sons is similarly named after a rock that Rock found the day he was born, leading to Rock awkwardly explaining that his son's name is ALSO Rock, but "a different rock." Likewise, he translates his wife's name to "Song", and one of their daughters is also known as "Song", although once again presumably a "different Song".
** This combined with LanguageEqualsThought in regards to speaking about nobility from other areas in Alethi. In Alethkar, [[FantasticCasteSystem eye color determines societal standing]], and anyone in charge is a "Lighteyes". As a result, characters from anywhere where this is not the case are stuck using awkward terms like "lighteyes who don't have light eyes" where we would just use a word like "nobles".
* ''Literature/GoodOmens'': The dark sigil ''odegra'' translates to "hail the Great Beast, devourer of worlds" in the language of the Black Priesthood of Ancient Mu. Crowley spent years ensuring that London's M25 motorway was constructed in its exact likeness.

* On ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Father Mulcahy attempted to calm down a POW repeating the phrase "Bung chao", which he believed to mean "peace and friendship". According to Radar, however, those two syllables meant "your daughter's pregnancy brings joy to our entire village".
* This used to be a RunningGag on the Australian TV comedy series ''Series/FastForward'' (later ''Series/FullFrontal'') whenever they'd spoof the multicultural TV channel SBS. Either a long stream of gibberish that went on and on would be translated as "Yes", or a single word in the made-up foreign language would lead to an endless stream of subtitles.
* In ''Series/SheSpies'', a show [[OverlyLongGag that likes dragging jokes out]], D.D. is teaching English to Icelandic workers. One of them offers her some flowers, and says "D'boi". The translation is an awfully long sentence expressing his love and gratitude towards her for teaching him, and later develops into a hint of romantic feelings for her, ending on a sad note about how she would never love him back. She explains that she just wants to be friends, and asks if he can't understand that. He answers in a long sentence, the translation of which is "no".
** Bonus points for a few dirty-sounding words in that long answer that strongly imply that he'd like nothing more than to bone her right then and there.
* In an episode of ''Series/MurphyBrown'', Murphy voices the suspicion that translators of arthouse-style foreign films intentionally do this as a prank on Americans.
* A frequent running gag in ''Series/ILoveLucy'' is how Ricky will rant in Spanish when especially angry, which is most of the time. On on occasion, he says "Este mujer está loca. Hemos estado casados por veinte años y mira lo que ha hecho a mí." While the straight translation is "This lady is crazy. We've been married for twenty years and look what she's done to me", the sub says succinctly: "She's nuts"
* The popular game "Foreign Film Dub" on ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' features one contestant [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign vaguely imitating a foreign language]], while the other "dubs" the dialogue into English. Frequent use is made of this trope.
** Including a literal Translation: "Yes" where, upon being asked to dance, Stephen Frost answered with a drawn-out and very loud "[[BigNo NEIN!]]"...which of course was helpfully translated as a polite "Yes."
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors The Two Doctors]]", which was filmed and takes place in Spain, a British man notices a sign reading "PROHIBIDA LA ENTRADA A PERSONAS NO AUTORIZADAS", which his Spanish girlfriend helpfully translates for him as "keep out". (In case you're wondering, the sign literally says "Entry forbidden to persons not authorized", or more idiomatically, "Unauthorized personnel prohibited"/"Authorized personnel only." Still a valid translation, though.)
* ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' has a variant on this trope- in the Missing Words round, where a headline has some words blanked out for the contestants to guess, jokes are often made by giving an answer significantly too long or short for the given space.
* A funny variation on ''Series/BarneyMiller'': an attractive deaf woman is a witness to a crime, requiring Officer Levitt, who can sign (to the surprise of all), to translate for her. She and Dietrich hit it off, so he asks her out to dinner. In reply, she signs very rapidly and animatedly, finishing off with a flourish of hand gestures around her open mouth. Levitt turns to Dietrich and says: "I take it she prefers Szechuan."
* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' featured a business meeting sketch with Stephen Fry acting as translator for Hugh Laurie and his opposite number from a fictional vaguely eastern European country, and opened with both variations on this gag: a short phrase translated into a much longer one, and a long phrase translated with a single word. It then went on to mine the other common language barrier gags, such as a mundane word in English ("price" in this case) which has no direct or even approximate translation into the other language, another mundane phrase in English which happens to be identical to a childish vulgarity in the other language, and yet another mundane phrase which turns out to be identical to a much more offensive vulgarity (leading the meeting - and the sketch - to break down).

* One ''Series/MadTV'' sketch parodying a badly-translated Korean soap opera had a character utter a single syllable, while the subtitles for the one-syllable sentence filled up the whole screen.

* Happens in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' from English to English when the trio meet Anna, a German girl who has just been fired from her job as au pair because she's pregnant. As the slightly more educated one in the family, Rodney is forced to translate for Del Boy and Albert. The exchange goes something like this:
-->'''Anna''': Mr Wainwright said that my disruptive influence on Spencer makes it inexpedient for me to remain.\\
'''Del Boy and Albert''': *looking at Rodney for a translation* Please?\\
'''Rodney''': He said, "On yer bike."\\
'''Del Boy''': *grins, nodding sudden understanding* Oh, on yer bike!
* On ''Series/SesameStreet,'' one Bert and Ernie sketch has them playing cavemen, with Bert as a father and Ernie as his son. They'd say "Ooga" or "Mooga," then translate it into an English sentence. After going back and forth for a while, Ernie says, "Oogaoogamoogamoogamoogaoogamoogaoogaoogamoogamoogaoogamooga!" and translates it to, "Thanks, dad!"
* Played for laughs in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} II'', when Queenie -- swept up in the national fervour over the return of Sir Walter Raleigh -- greets him with 'traditional' sea-faring lingo:
-->'''Queenie:''' Splice me timbers, Sir Walter, it's bucko to see you, old matey!\\
'''Sir Walter Raleigh:''' ... I'm sorry?\\
'''Series/{{Blackadder}}''': She says 'hello'.
* ''Series/BetterOffTed'': As part of a complicated lie, Ted tells his date Danielle that he's an Indian and given her "translations" of various words in his invented native language. Linda finds out and uses this to force him to confess to the lie. At the end of the episode, she apologizes:
-->'''Linda:''' Hey Ted--''pillomaya''. That means "I'm sorry I messed things up for you with Danielle, but I was pissed you dated someone from that stupid list when we had a deal we wouldn't, but ruining your love life was a douchey thing to do." ''Pillomaya'': a simple word for a complex idea.
* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', Howard is helping Raj communicate with a deaf girl whom the latter is on a date with, as Howard knows sign language. Raj gives increadibly long-winded PurpleProse descriptions he wants Howard to translate, but Howard just [[{{Beat}} stares]] at Raj, and signs stuff like "He likes your eyes."
** Later in the episode, Penny also has Howard translate for the same girl. Penny suspects she's taking advantage of Raj's wealth and tries to broach the subject gently and tactfully. Howard's translation? "Are you a gold digger or not?" Needless to say, the girl storms off.
* In an ''Series/ElChapulinColorado'' episode, Chapulín is trying to help an archeologist and his partner avoid getting sacrificed in a Dizcotec tribe ritual, and this exchange happens:
-->'''Tribe Chief''': ''(to Chapulin)'' Salveca mi eca!
-->'''Archeologist''': Yes, yes! Answer "salveca bireca", please!
-->'''Chapulín''': What does that mean?
-->'''Archeologist''': It's a deal you can make so the lady and I are not to be sacrificed to their great idol, because according to the Dizcotec tribe constitution, that states, in the article 324, clause B, paragraph 341, that our life may be spared if someone can manage to defeat the youngest son of the Dizcotec chief in a one-on-one fight!
-->'''Chapulín''': And who has to fight with his son?\\
'''Archeologist''': ''(to Tribe Chief)'' Que ca lucheca con hijeca?\\
'''Tribe Chief''': Teca teca zacateca, teca teca chitimeca, teca teca zapoteca, teca teca de manteca, teca teca dizcoteca, teca teca teca teca teca tripa seca!
-->'''Chapulin''': What did he say?
-->'''Archeologist''': You.
* In the ''Series/BreakingBad'' episode "Full Measure", Mike rescues Chow, Gus's chemical supplier, who was being held hostage by the Juárez Cartel. After he's done, there's this exchange:
-->'''Mike:''':The lady out front- Hey lady, are you still there? ''(to Chow)'' Ask her if she's still there.\\
'''Chow:''' ''(in Chinese)'' Peng, are you still there?\\
'''Peng:''' ''(in Chinese, offscreen)'' Of course I'm still here, where else could I go?! What is even going on?! I have to go home, I have kids to take care of, my husband is worried sick! You don't pay me enough; ''I watched a man get killed in front of me!''\\
'''Chow:''' She says yes.
* On ''Series/NYPDBlue'', Sipowicz once asked Martinez to help him talk to someone who only spoke Spanish. Sipowicz asked a question, Martinez translated it, and the guy went into a fairly long-winded answer. Martinez, presumably just trying to simplify things, translated it as "No." Sipowicz got annoyed and said, "I know what 'no' is, 'no' is 'no!'"
** A similar situation occurs in the 2nd-season episode "Cop Suey." Kelly enlists the help of a detective from another precinct, Harold Ng, to find the killer of a cop in Chinatown. Interrogating the suspect, Ng briefly converses with him and tells Kelly he only said "No" to a question. When Kelly points out the length of their back-and-forth remarks, Ng relents and says the suspect asked him, "Why are you working with these white ghosts?", and was worried that Kelly would be offended by the remark.
* ''Series/AForAndromeda''. When Kaufman announces that multinational corporation Intel has effectively taken over the country, the translator shows his disapproval via this trope.
-->'''Kaufman:''' The army and all other branches will report directly to the President. The present parliament will not be called back into session. Help will continue to be provided by...
-->''(Translator gives long stream of Arabic)''\\
'''Kaufman:''' ...a new international technological and trading consortium...\\
'''Translator:''' Intel.\\
''(Kaufman glares at translator)''
* ''Series/{{Conan}}'' did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FzDN86CskA&t=3m23s special in South Korea]]. When he asked an expert at an aquarium how to tell a male octopus from a female one, he received a long explanation, conspicuously uncut for the audience, followed by a much terser translation.
* In the mini series ''Series/AnsweredByFire'', an Australian police officer working for the United Nations and his Timorese interpreter get into an argument over this trope.
-->'''Policeman:''' Do me a favour mate, just tell me ''exactly'' what they're saying.
-->'''Translator:''' That's what I do.
-->'''Policeman:''' No, that's not what you did. You got into a bloody shouting match with those guys and you tell me everything's fine.
-->'''Translator:''' But it is fine!
-->'''Policeman:''' No, it's not fine. Look, I just need you to do your job properly, OK?
-->'''Translator:''' Look the job said [[PunctuatedForEmphasis in-ter-pre-tor]]. Right? That's what I was doing.
-->'''Policeman:''' Well I need you to translate everything, word-for-word.
-->'''Translator:''' Yeah, yeah -- sometimes, people don't understand ''why'' you're saying something, and they start talking about something else. Then I have to tell them, it doesn't matter! You don't want to hear that stuff.
-->'''Policeman:''' Yeah, well I do want to hear that stuff--
-->'''Translator:''' But it's not about anything--
-->'''Policeman:''' Just translate everything, word-for-word, you got it?
* Inverted in ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'', when Merlin hears a wolf howling in the distance and deduces that a twelve-year old female fell because of a landslide, broke her leg and deviated her hips. It's either limping or not walking straight, he's not sure.
* From ''Series/TheMandalorian,'' when the title character asks what his passenger's cargo is.
-->'''[[FrogMen Frog Lady]]:''' ''(two short croaks)''
-->'''Peli:''' It's her spawn. She needs her eggs fertilized by the equinox or her line will end. If you jump into hyperspace, they'll die. She said her husband has settled on the estuary moon of Trask in the system of the gas giant Kol Iben.
-->'''Mandalorian:''' She said all that?
-->'''Peli:''' I paraphrased.
* Creator/DaraOBriain parodied this on an episode of ''Friday Night with Creator/JonathanRoss''. When Jonathan asked him to say "This couch is marvellous. Could I buy it from you?" in Irish, Dara launched into a lengthy monologue which ended with him gesturing towards his crotch.
--> '''Jonathan Ross:''' That was made up!\\
'''Dara Ó Briain:''' The last bit got a bit strange at the end, but ''bhaint an ghruaig mo magairlí'' is "to take the hair off my balls".
* ''Series/LittleBritain'': When Vicky Pollard is paralysed and only able to communicate by moving her eyes, she is connected to a machine which translates her eye movements to words. Most of her replies are her usual motor mouth gibberish, but one long sequence of eye movements translates to a simple "no".

* In the humorous game ''Robert Redford Save the Day: Episode 2'', when talking to a cat using a Cat-to-English dictionary:
-->'''Robert:''' miu ("Please come down from the tree because I'm on a mission from God and I was asked to get you down from this tree and return you to your rightful owner Mrs. Plumberstein who is eagerly awaiting your return")\\
'''Cat:''' [=MiawW miowOAw=] mia mioo mioo miwoamwo maou maou miowwwwwwww moa mow maow mieow mieowww miow mio mio moiaw ("Fuck off")
* In both ''Videogame/FallenLondon'' and ''Videogame/SunlessSea'', the Correspondence usually tends towards the "extra-condensed" version, due to being a series of symbols. However, it can get ''ridiculously'' specific, with there being specific symbols for "Almost Never Remembered", "Forever Plummeting Towards the Earth" and "A Colophon Printed on Living Skin".
* This happens in ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter: New Blood'', in some sort of African language. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4NTXfobJ5k It's even lampshaded]] in a LetsPlay.

* ''VideoGame/SoUhASpaceshipCrashedInMyYard'': Done with a YourMom line, when interacting with one of the dogs in the pet store, it says: "woof.", and ARIA says:
--> Hey! My mother's weight is entirely normal for a freight ship of her class.
* In ''VideoGame/GibbousACthulhuAdventure'', Buzz is visiting Transylviana and tries asking a local man for directions. While said local man's spoken dialogue lines lasts between 10 and 15 second each, the subtitles are much more laconic, translating his responses as "Hello", "Yes", "No", "Try the inn", and "Indeed".

* In ''WebAnimation/BeeAndPuppycat'', it takes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOG_UtLxh58&t=3m30s noticeably longer]] for Puppycat to say "Why not?" than it does to say "Hello Peon. Bow to me."

* In [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/1213.html this]] ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' strip the Ubese phrase "Ay yoto" apparently means "With this! A holovid of the final charity performance of the traditional Gungan creation legend, to raise money for the Naboo refugee crisis, prior to the destruction of the Gungan race."

* ''WebVideo/FrenchBaguetteIntelligence'': Right after FC's big, long speech in Spanish in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXqnJPm0-1s Should we say "Latinx"?]]'', Bowl decided to [[TrollingTranslator 'translate']] the speech:
-->'''Starla:''' [=OMG=], I literally don't give a shit if you can speak Spanish, FC. You're not impressing anyone and I'm not gonna translate it.\\
'''Bowl:''' Well, I translated it and he said that you're fat.\\
'''Fuck Cares:''' No, I didn't. I said that Latinos born in the [=USA=] can barely speak Spanish in the first place, so they have no authority on this debate.\\
'''Bowl:''' I just translated that and it's French for "Like, really really fat. And ugly."
* Done in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBO5dh9qrIQ This Episode]] of ''WebVideo/HeyShipwreck''. For example, translating "What the f*ck" as "I do not understand why logic seems to be avoided at all cost for some reason, and I'm just very frustrated at the fact that we have been unable to let go of certain practices, that although have become routine, are not as beneficial as other options that have become available to us."
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNgx9Jb5SEA Water.]] Also, dry (it's a long word in Japanese.)

* According to ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', [[GratuitousJapanese "Shimatta bakame!"]] is Japanese for [[CatchPhrase "D'oh!"]] It's not a real phrase, technically. "Shimatta" literally means "done, but to a negative effect," and has the meaning of "drat!" or "dammit!". "Bakame" carries the meaning of "the damned fool" or "that moron!" [[PlayingWithATrope It is not, however, an inaccurate translation]]: He's calling himself a screw up (spoken Japanese often drops the subject), which is actually pretty close to what "D'oh" implies anyway. A rough translation might be "now you've done it, you moron!"
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' has an ImagineSpot where Quagmire is dreaming himself in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', as the Aragorn to his [[GirloftheWeek Girl of the Week]]'s Arwen. He says a long, long phrase in Elvish. Subtitles: "Giggity".
** Peter recounts the family's history in a different episode, and tells them of one of his ancestors, silent film actor Black-Eye Griffin. A clip is shown of Black-Eye noticing some pie and visibly speaking for several seconds; the intertitle simply reads "That's pie".
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' has a parody of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' ostensibly dubbed from Japanese. At one point a character moves his mouth quite a bit but the [[HongKongDub dubbed version]] only says "Yeah".

* Arnold's parents' wedding ceremony in ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' was done in the local language. It takes several hours to get through "Do you Miles take Stella to be your lawfully wedded wife", several more to get through "Do you Stella take Miles to be your lawfully wedded husband", but only a short phrase for "And by the power vested in me... ...I now pronounce you man and wife".
* The "West Side Pigeons" Goodfeathers sketch in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' has one scene in which the Godpigeon talks to Squit, who completely misunderstands him. The last of the Godpigeon's lines takes seven seconds to utter. It's subtitled as "See ya."
** There's also an episode where Yakko, Wakko, and Dot were abducted by aliens. The alien gives his leader a long response to his leader's command which subtitles to "Okay."
* Happens in the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''. The title character, when inquiring about Darwin's job skills, asks if Darwin can speak Chinese. He responds in a long Chinese sentence which is subtitled "No."
-->'''Gumball:''' Can you speak Chinese?\\
'''Darwin:''' 我真的不知道如何说中文，因为它真的很难说，我只知道一个小的中国说话，所以我不能说。[[labelnote:Literal translation]]"I don't really know how to speak Chinese because it is really hard to speak it and I only know a little Chinese, so I can't say I speak it."[[/labelnote]]\\
'''Subtitle:''' No.
** Another episode of ''Gumball'' features Chris Morris the school hamster, who is accidentally let loose from his cage. He squeaks once, and it is subtitled as "You kept me imprisoned for an eternity. But today, at the sunset of my life, I shall walk proud and free. To a new life of happiness and abundance and I shall see the daylight once more."--[[ExaggeratedTrope he's already finished talking and started walking away by the time half of that was on screen]]. Later on several indignant squeaks from him is subtitled as "[[GoshDangItToHeck Forget you.]]"
* In the "Shoyu Weenie" episode of ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'', a Japanese character's exclamation "Oi!" is subtitled as "They stole our song!"

* Inverted on ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}''. Quack Quack the duck, who [[TheUnintelligible can only speak in quacks]], can use a single "Quack" to narrate a whole story which takes about 20 seconds to say in English.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'', one episode has a brief appearance by two kilt-wearing characters speaking in [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign pseudo-Scottish gibberish]] while bagpipes play in the background. A single syllable is subtitled as "What luck, Angus Macdougal Mackenzie Maclommond Machaggis Macteague!"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon ''Wackiki Wabbit'', Bugs Bunny is on a desert island with two starving castaways. He pretends to be a native and says a long, drawn out sentence in a [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign faux-Polynesian language]], which is subtitled, "What's up, Doc?" He then says a single, short word that is subtitled, "Now is the time for every good man to come to the aid of his party." The same thing happens when the castaways reply to him in English:
-->'''Tall Castaway:''' Well, uh… thanks! ''(subtitles now say "Ofa eno maua te offe popaa.")''\\
'''Short Castaway:''' ''([[MediumAwareness points to subtitles]])'' Gee, did you say ''that''?\\
'''Tall Castaway:''' ''(shrugs)''

* From ''[[Film/NightAtTheMuseum Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian:]]''

** One example uses dictation instead of translation -- his Hitler parody, Adenoid Hynkel, would say a long sentence, and his secretary would transcribe it in a couple keystrokes. Another sentence, and again a couple keystrokes. A single word, and suddenly the secretary is typing something that might be the original manuscript of ''Order of the Phoenix''.

Related to FunWithSubtitles, which may overlap with BilingualBonus. Also related to ExpospeakGag, with the key difference that in the latter both messages are (technically) in the same language. Compare NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'': The dark sigil ''odegra'' translates to "hail the Great Beast, devourer of worlds" in the language of the Black Priesthood of Ancient Mu. Crowley spent years ensuring that London's M25 motorway was constructed in its exact likeness

* ''Series/LittleBritain'': When Vicky Pollard is paralysed and only able to communicate by moving her eyes, she is connected to a machine which translates her eye moments to words. Most of her replies are her usual motor mouth gibberish, but one long sequence of eye movements translates to a simple "no".

** Umnian is an entirely contextual language, meaning that there isn't a single word that won't have a different meaning when used in a different sentence. [[spoiler:Thusly the "Ten Gold Golems" that the Golem trust had excavated and directed to Ankh Morpork turned out to be "Ten ''Thousand'' Golems"..]]
** An interesting English to English translation, quite a bit of time in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' is devoted to an extremely long, flowery love poem from Trev to Juliet -- both of whom are somewhat... less-than-literate. The message is translated, with the help of Nutt, from Trev's original, "I think you're really fit. I really fancy you. Can we have a date? No hanky panky, I promise" to said long poem. Of course, once Juliet gets it, Glenda has to translate the poem back for her. [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike Naturally]], she translates it as, "He really fancies you, thinks you're really fit, how about a date, no hanky panky, he promises." In fact Nutt had foreseen this, and the long version doubles as a poem from him to Glenda.

-->-- '''Drazi ambassador''' (to Tirk, whose name apparently means "Don't touch me, I'm not having another child after this ever again."), ''Series/BabylonFive: The Legend of the Rangers''

* Parodied in a ''{{Creator/Gotlib}}'' strip about dubbing, explaining that a very long sentence in one language can translate to a very short one and vice versa (in this case, a man at a restaurant orders "Zklowtchug Propoko Matinkeljournalflotcknovschmovkapop wrtchukolpski" ("goose"), and for dessert "awoh" ("a chocolate cake covered with whipped cream and stuffed [[ForeignQueasine with green olives]]"). The dub team's solution is to have the man explain what he's going to order for dessert after the main course, and finish with "yup!".

* ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'s name means "one who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it." [[LampshadeHanging More than one character]] has thought it meant "wolf" like one would expect. It should perhaps be pointed out that [[FridgeBrilliance these are not mutually exclusive]].

* [[ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Groot's]] entire language functions as a [[ExaggeratedTrope particularly extreme]] form of this. Every single thing he says, from "hello" to [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1b/dc/2c/1bdc2c2c2a66133022a651ff85ce8f13.jpg a lengthy poetic speech about how much he loves humanity]] comes out as simply "I am Groot". Somehow his friends are able to learn to understand this language and converse with him normally.

* Used in an episode of the ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' GagSub "The Adventures of Yuki Nagato" by ''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/ChiefProphetOfYukism Chief Prophet Of Yukiism]]''. Moreover, the word where this trope is applied to, "Yahoo", translates into a lampshade of the trope.

* In the classic ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Two Doctors," which was filmed and took place in Spain. A British man notices a sign reading "PROHIBIDA LA ENTRADA A PERSONAS NO AUTORIZADAS," which his Spanish girlfriend helpfully translates for him as "keep out." (In case you're wondering, the sign literally says "Entry forbidden to persons not authorized", or more idiomatically, "Unauthorized personnel prohibited"/"Authorized personnel only." Still a valid translation, though.)