A ludicrous English translation at public park patronised mainly by the ‘physically unfit’!

A notice board has been erected last week at the main entrance to the Wetland Park, Nugegoda popularly known as Weli Park prohibiting physically unfit members of the public from patronising the park to the amusement of park visitors, who are by and large physically unfit septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians in the last lap of their life.

The writer firmly believes that this error has occurred in translating the Sinhala message into the English language giving a totally different message to the public including foreigners. The English message “Vehicle entrance is only for the people who are physically fit” is diametrically opposite to the Sinhala version of the message “Parking of vehicles is only for the public who come for physical exercises”. The translation is chalk and cheese or yoghurt to polsambol in the local context.

Those who can read Sinhala could understand the meaning of the message wherein it says that the general public who come for physical exercise (walking, brisk walking, jogging, running etc,) and also, relaxing, socializing, bird watching, photography, yoga, meditation, etc are allowed to bring their vehicles inside to the car park.

But the gobbledygook translation by the panjandrums of the Low-Lying Reclamation Board and the Urban Development Authority have committed a ludicrous blunder by giving a totally different message to the general public in the English version. There must be errors in thousands of signs. Authorities need to ensure not to hurt our Tamil and Burgher brethren’s minds by poorly worded translations. If we go by the English version, even the President who I believe is a septuagenarian, the architect of the park and a couple of senior Ministers who patronise the park for physical exercises cannot enter the park. What a ridiculous translation.

It is equally true that the genuine users of the park are greatly inconvenienced as the parking slots are used by the customers, employees and shop owners of the ceramic and mercantile and hardware establishments in this locality from morning to evening at their own will, seemingly with the tacit consent of the supervisory personnel of the park.

Over to you, Chairmen of the Low-Lying Reclamation Board and Urban Development Authority.

A. Ranasinghe Daily visitor (septuagenarian) to the Park