Source:The Globe and Mail
The unexpected translation occurred when an icon for the flag was inserted into a Chinese sentence and then translated into English, using an automated feature in WeChat meant to smooth communication between speakers of the two languages. The bug did not affect Canada alone. WeChat on Tuesday translated the Andorra flag into He was killed, the Aruba flag into Youre under arrest and Congo into Hes dead.
Tencent, the company that owns WeChat, released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying it is taking immediate action to fix a translation bug on WeChat. We thank users for flagging this matter and apologize for any inconvenience caused.
By early evening Tuesday, the bizarre flag translations had vanished.
Tencent did not, however, provide any explanation of what happened, leading to speculation about whether the cause was malicious or perhaps an indication that translation algorithms trawling digital communications had automatically picked up a relationship between Canada and prison in discussions in China.
Its either a joke or a machine-learning issue, but it may also indicate has been used in connection with talking about prison, said James Hull, an investment analyst in Beijing who is co-host of the China Tech Investor podcast.
The Ukraine flag, too, translated into Hes in prison before the company fixed the error.
Other translations were equally strange, if less politically sensitive. The emojis for the flags of Iceland and Ireland were rendered as Hey. Hey, and Hey! Hey! Greece was Oh, yeah. Bulgaria was Hey, Chauncey! South Africa was Hes a henchman. Egypt was Im sorry. Brazil was Oh, my God. Turkey was Oh, no. Madagascar was Heavy duty. Cambodia was Beyond recognition. Bosnia and Herzegovina was Hes in a coma. Afghanistan was In the middle of nowhere. Myanmar was jackass. Argentina was Youre in love.
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